After reviewing studies on MRSA spread prevention in hospitals, the authors argue although various approaches to tackle MRSA have been examined, most of the research looks at bundles of control measures. It’s unclear which individual components work best or whether some of them could be omitted without increasing transmission.
Also, screening and isolating infected patients, which have long been regarded as the best MRSA prevention strategy, have poor evidence for their effectiveness.
“In the haste to do something against the rising tide of MRSA infection, measures were adopted that seemed plausible but were not properly assessed, bundling the effective and harmless with the ineffective and harmful. We know, for example, that isolating patients can result in anxiety and depression and fewer visits by doctors and nurses,” said Gerd Fätkenheuer, study co-author and professor of infectious diseases at the University Hospital Cologne in Germany and president of the German Society of Infectious Diseases.
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