Postoperative infection with meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and socioeconomic background.
Infectious disease can be linked to social deprivation. We investigated whether postoperative infection with meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is related to socioeconomic background. Patients were stratified by social deprivation according to postcode. In a consecutive series of 1739 UK residents undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass grafting, 23 (1.3%) were infected with MRSA. We noted a graded relation between incidence of infection and social deprivation. Patients from the most deprived areas had a seven-fold higher infection rate (13 of 579 [2.2%]) than those from the least deprived areas (two of 580 [0.3%]; p=0.0040). Patients with MRSA infection had a six-fold higher mortality rate and a longer hospital stay than patients with no such infection. Our findings suggest that patients from deprived areas might be especially susceptible to postoperative infection with MRSA.
Imperial College London, London, UK, and Cardiothoracic Directorate, Hammersmith Hospital, London W12 0HS, UK. p.bagger@ic.ac.uk
Jens Peder
JP
Bagger
Dlear
D
Zindrou
Kenneth M
KM
Taylor
D001026:Coronary Artery Bypass; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality; D011204:Poverty Areas; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology