MRSA Rates Dropped 87% in VA Hospital ICUs

By Tinker Ready

Hospitals run by the Department of Veterans Affairs continue to see declines in the rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.

For the month of September 2015, only two MRSA HAIs were reported at the ICUs of all of the VA’s 127 facilities.

A study in current edition of the American Journal of Infection Control reports that over eight years, monthly MRSA hospital acquired infection (HIA) rates dropped 87% in intensive care units, 80.1% in non-ICUs and 80.9% in spinal cord injury units.

The findings were based on data from 5,530,104 admissions and 23,153,240 patient days.

They study offers an update of previously reported results and reflects national trends. The Centers for Disease Control reports that rates of hospital-onset, severe MRSA infections is falling in the US, a trajectory the agency calls “encouraging.”

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