Routine nasal screening in NICU reduced MRSA cases

Nasal screening for methicillin-resistant Staphyloccocus aureus in a neonatal intensive care unit significantly reduced MRSA infection rates, according to a poster presented at the 2010 Annual Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance in Bethesda, Md.

Jeremias Murillo, MD, of Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in New Jersey, told Infectious Disease News that the NICU began routine screening after a 2005 MRSA outbreak at the hospital.

Murillo and colleagues retrospectively compared 42-month periods pre and post screening. They noted 29 MRSA cases in 2,625 NICU patients between July 2002 and December 2005, the period before routine screening. That rate dropped to five cases in 3,264 patients after the screening program began. Murillo attributed this decrease to different contact procedures and decolonization with topical mupirocin (Bactroban, GlaxoSmithKline).

Despite these findings, the debate over the value of screening for MRSA among inpatients is ongoing. Although there is an initial cost outlay to begin a screening program, Murillo estimates the hospital saved more than $800,000 that would have been associated with treating infants with MRSA. He added that New Jersey has enacted legislation for mandatory screening in certain high-risk units. - by Colleen Zacharyczuk

For more information:

• Murillo JL. Reduction of MRSA infection after screening for nasal colonization in a neonatal intensive care unit: 42-month follow-up. Presented at: 2010 Conference on Antimicrobial Resistance; Feb. 1-3, 2010; Bethesda, MD.