Effect of screening for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carriage by polymerase chain reaction on the duration of unnecessary preemptive contact isolation.
A high prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage at hospital readmission among previous MRSA carriers warrants screening and preemptive isolation precautions. The replacement of culture on chromogenic agar with rapid quantitative polymerase chain reaction for readmission screening reduces the number of unnecessary preemptive isolation-days by 54% (from 6.88 to 3.14 isolation-days) and related costs by 45% (from US dollars 113.2 to US dollars 62.1) for patients who test negative for MRSA.
Infection Control Program, University of Geneva Hospitals and Faculty of Medicine, Geneva, Switzerland.
Ilker
I
Uçkay
Hugo
H
Sax
Anne
A
Iten
Véronique
V
Camus
Gesuele
G
Renzi
Jacques
J
Schrenzel
Arnaud
A
Perrier
Didier
D
Pittet
D001431:Bacteriological Techniques / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods; D002353:Carrier State / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000191:economics*; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D010356:Patient Isolation / Q000191:economics; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology