title: Financial analysis of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a high school wrestler.
abstract: This case study is a collage of case studies regarding CA-MRSA in the athletic setting and is based on CA-MRSA cases observed by one of the authors while working as a school nurse in the high school setting. It is also based on multiple case studies of high school and college athletic teams documented in the literature. While CA-MRSA has been long been associated with superficial skin infections, the pathogenic capacity of CA-MRSA is now being well documented in the literature. Since 1994, there have been several cases documented where otherwise healthy children have contracted CA-MRSA infections that quickly progressed to bacteremia, sepsis, and death. Athletes, including those on high school teams, have been the subject of an increasing number of reported CA-MRSA cases (Patel, Fischer, Calfee, Plante, & Fadale, 2007). The purpose of this article is to show the importance of prevention and early treatment for suspected CA-MRSA infections. The ethical principle of justice supports nursing and public attention to prevention rather than tertiary care. In this situation, school and professional attention to hygiene would have prompted different behaviors, and this outcome might have been avoided. The cost of good hygiene practices in the locker room would have cost the school $41.45 and a little time for education. The combined estimated cost of secondary, tertiary, and rehabilitative care is $208,079 (see Table 7). The cost for permanent disability in a young person cannot be fully captured fiscally, nor should it be.
authors.affiliation: California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Folsom, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Diane M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: O'Laughlin
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Cook