Universal decolonization of all ICU patients can help reduce bloodstream infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and also lower healthcare costs, and does so better compared to screening and isolation of MRSA carriers and targeted decolonization.
A recent study in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology compared the three methods to estimate the healthcare costs of targeted and universal MRSA decolonization compared with simple screening and isolation. Researchers compared effectiveness based on a recent randomized trail, and cost estimates were taken from literature.
Compared with screening and isolation, universal decolonization saved an estimated $171,000 and prevented nine additional bloodstream infections for every 1,000 ICU admissions. It was also more effective than targeted decolonization.
"A strategy of universal decolonization for patients admitted to the ICU would both reduce [bloodstream infections] and likely reduce healthcare costs compared with strategies of MRSA…screening and isolation or screening and isolation coupled with targeted decolonization," the researchers concluded.