Immunology and Infectious Disease Commons^™

The Use Of Surveillance And Preventative Measures For Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infections In Surgical Patients, Kevin T . Kavanagh, Lindsay Calderon, Daniel Saman, Said Abusalem

Biological Sciences Faculty and Staff Research

The Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality (AHRQ) found that Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is associated with up to 375,000 infections and 23,000 deaths in the United States. It is a major cause of surgical site infections, with a higher mortality and longer duration of care than Methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus. A multifactorial bundled approach is needed to control this epidemic, with single interventions unlikely to have a significant impact on attenuating MRSA infection rates.
Active surveillance has been studied in a wide range of surgical patients, including surgical intensive care and non-intensive care units; cardiac, vascular, orthopedic, obstetric, head and …