MRSA precautions

On Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:01:12 -0000, "Pat Gardiner"
wrote:

Pat's Notes: MRSA precautions, at hospital door, are coming in all over the
US.

The key quotes are these:

"Harrisburg has said high-risk patients have to be screened. It's up to us
to determine who the high-risk patients are and what do we do about it,"
said Dr. Louis Schenfeld, an infectious disease expert."

"At Memorial, high-risk patients include those from nursing homes or people
coming from the intensive care unit. They are given a nasal swab to see if
any staph infections are lying dormant in their system before they go under
the knife. "

The current US view is that the people likely to be carrying in MRSA are
existing hospital patients, homosexuals (hotly disputed), drug injectors,
athletes and schoolchildren.

The current Canadian and European view is that the people likely to be pig
and pork handlers plus possibly others.

The British view is not known. It is a State Secret. They won't test the
pigs. Nobody knows whether the pigs have MRSA or not.

The question as to whether there are significant differences in the strains
is still open.

The Americans could be wrong, they haven't checked the pigs either.
The Canadians and other Europeans know what they are talking about. They
have checked both the pigs and the pig farmers.
The British are definitely wrong, and they know it, otherwise they would
check the pigs wouldn't they?



http://www.wjactv.com/news/15403517/detail.html


New Safety Measures Help Prevent MRSA
POSTED: 1:34 pm EST February 25, 2008
UPDATED: 4:07 pm EST February 25, 2008

At Memorial Medical Center in Johnstown, the staff prepares a patient for
the operating room in a much different way than in years past.
The changes are a result of the staph infection methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, which has been making headlines as is
spreads throughout the Alleghenies in nursing homes, schools and businesses.
Anyone is susceptible to the drug-resistant infection, which is why
hospitals across the state are stepping up safety measures.

Disease experts said MRSA is the most common staph infection in the country
and is responsible for 60 percent of all staph infections reported. About 20
to 30 percent of the population has MRSA in their system and, odds are, they
don't even know it.

Because of those startling statistics, lawmakers in Harrisburg decided it
was time to act -- and that means changes for hospital stays.

The increased safety procedures are part of Act 52, which is a mandate from
Harrisburg to better report the cases of staph infections and help prevent
them.
"Harrisburg has said high-risk patients have to be screened. It's up to us
to determine who the high-risk patients are and what do we do about it,"
said Dr. Louis Schenfeld, an infectious disease expert.

For starters, operating room patients now use a special scrub called CHG
when they shower before surgery.

"You take a shower before surgery but then you touch your car (and)
everything on the way in here," said Brenda Winski, a nurse manager. "We
just want to make sure we can do everything we can to prevent anything form
happening, especially with the MRSA outbreaks in the community."

At Memorial, high-risk patients include those from nursing homes or people
coming from the intensive care unit. They are given a nasal swab to see if
any staph infections are lying dormant in their system before they go under
the knife.

If the nasal swab comes back positive, hospital staffers emphasize the
importance of good hand washing before and after care.
At Somerset Hospital, if the lab finds a positive MRSA screen, that patient
is isolated and other departments are informed about the patient regardless
of whether the infection is dormant.

In Blair County, Altoona Regional Medical Center has already started testing
patients coming in for joint replacements, a group doctors said is of
special concern.

"(For) patients that are going to have procedures like total joints, we test
them to see if we want to use a more powerful antibiotic to prevent MRSA,"
said Dr. David Cowger of Altoona Regional Hospital.

Schenfeld said while it's not done now, Memorial Medical Center is thinking
about testing implant patients in the future before surgery.
Another concern for hospitals is the current antibiotics that are used don't
necessarily address MRSA. So, until the technology catches up, medical
experts say preventative measures are more important than ever.