These findings come from a study published in PLoS ONE. Researchers in the study studied the outcomes of 659 surgical patients at a tertiary care facility and six community hospitals in the Duke Infection Control Outreach Network, according to the report.
According to the study, 150 patients contracted MRSA infections: 25 of these patients died within 90 days and 110 were readmitted, with a median charge per stay of $80,000. The study also found that patients who contracted MRSA stayed an average of three weeks longer in the hospital and were seven times more likely to die within 90 days, according to the report.
The researchers concluded that effectiveness of preventative measures, such as screening high-risk patients for MRSA prior to surgery, were not clear, but that the cost of hospital’s inaction is key to saving money and protecting patients, according to the report.
Read the AMNews report about the cost of MRSA infection.
