Methicillin-Resistant MRSA Infection

There are several important steps in preventing the spread of MRSA: washing hands before and after patient contact, using gloves appropriately, covering any cuts on the hands, maintaining healthy hands, avoiding overcrowding in hospital departments, maintaining a clean environment, and prudent antibiotic prescribing (3). Hand washing is the most effective way to keep from spreading infections. The CDC recommends that you spend 20 seconds scrubbing your hands with soap while washing your hands (1). You can sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice all the way through also (1). If soap and water are not available, the CDC recommends using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that is at least 60% alcohol (1). This should not be used as a first line of defense. Hand washing is always the best way to get rid of harmful bacterium. Gloves and gowns are another great way to create a barrier between you and the bacteria. Proper removal of gloves and gown are vitally important. If your gloves are contaminated with MRSA, and you remove them improperly, you have completely defeated the point of even putting the gloves on. Once a surface is contaminated with MRSA, it can live prolonged periods of time unless removed through cleaning (5). For contaminated surfaces, you would want to use a disinfectant. Choosing the proper disinfectant, along with following the directions of use on the packaging, will rid the surface form microbes. It is extremely important to follow the directions on the packaging of the disinfectant because each disinfectant is different. One may need you to keep the surface wet for 2 minutes, while the other requires the surface to be kept wet for 10 minutes. If the surface isn’t kept wet for the allotted time, the surface will not be disinfected and will continue to contaminate

A course of action that could be taken is during wound dressing and changes the nurses should gown up (Masks, gloves, and gowns) to prevent any further infections with MRSA with this patient. According to Lopez and associates this could benefit the patient by keeping the chance of transmission at minimum. Another aspect that could have been done as stated by Gurusamy and associates is the use of antibiotic prophylaxis. By doing this it will help prevent MRSA from contaminating and entering the patients wound.

Using personal items of someone who has MRSA, such as towels, wash cloths, clothes or athletic equipment.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or more commonly, MRSA can be transmitted in two separate ways, therefore giving it two different names. One way it is spread is by way of hospitals, giving it the name health care-associated MRSA (HA-MRSA). Another way it is spread is through busy areas with a lot of crowding, therefore naming it community-associated MRSA (CA-MRSA). MRSA is considered an emerging disease because the prevalence of the disease has increased over the past few decades.

Health care providers and visitors are required to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and follow strict hand hygiene procedures. Contaminated rooms, surfaces, and laundry items are properly disinfected to prevent the spread of MRSA. In addition to policy and procedures, patient teaching is also helpful for preventing exposure and spread of MRSA. As aforementioned earlier, hand hygiene is key to prevent exposer or transmission of the bacteria. To properly wash your hand effectively, first scrub hands rapidly for at least 15 seconds. Next, use a disposable towel to dry them and another towel to turn off the faucet. In addition, hand sanitizer that contains 62 percent or more of alcohol may be an adequate substitute when the individual does not have access to soap and water (Mayo Clinic Staff,

Preventable infections regardless of the causative agent, have become major triggers of unintended patient outcome, increased morbidity, and mortality (Arias, 2010). Methicillin Sensitive Staphylococcus Aureus (MSSA) and Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) are the most common causes of healthcare associated infections (HAI) and outbreaks in acute care hospitals and community settings (CADTH, 2010). The widespread infection with the MRSA pathogen is believed to have increased from 2.4 percent in 1975 to 29 percent in 1991 and 2003 in hospitals across the United States (U S) (CADTH, 2010). The prevalence is even greater among Intensive Care Unit (ICU) patients at 53 percent (CADTH, 2010) and continues to rise due to the widespread

MRSA is spread by contact, so for example, touching another person who has it on the skin, or by touching objects the bacteria has transferred to. These particular infections are frequent amongst those with weak immune systems and those in hospitals, nursing homes, care centers, etc., because the superbugs crop up around surgical wounds or invasive devices such as catheters or implanted feeding tubes. The

MRSA that affects the skin is caused by the same bacteria that cause respiratory MRSA. Staphylococcus aureus, however, enters through a break in the skin and causes infection. The sore will look like a boil or a type of abscess on the skin and is extremely contagious especially if it is weeping. The abscess may need to be drained and lanced to prevent the spread of infection. It is very important that if a boil or abscess is seen on the skin to go to a physician to get it checked to prevent the spread of MRSA. If the sore is infected from MRSA, it will not go away on its own and using antibiotic cream will not help. Actually it will just feed the bacteria and make it worse. So it is very important to go to your physician or to the hospital

The most important type of isolation required for MRSA is what is called Contact Isolation. This type of isolation requires everyone in contact with the patient to be very careful about hand washing after touching either the patient or anything in contact with the patient. In addition the patients notes should be clearly labelled “MRSA” so that this type of accommodation is provided if and when they are admitted to hospital in the future.

MRSA is a skin infection that can potentially lead to death if not properly treated. Symptoms include rash, headaches, body aches, chills, fever, extreme fatigue, cough, shortness of breath, and chest pains. The rash may appear as pimples or boils and can be quite painful. There are two types of MRSA. HA-MRSA is an infection that was contracted in a hospital or healthcare setting and CA-MRSA is an infection contracted by a healthy individual in the community. Often times, those who contract CA-MRSA have a fragile immune system, play sports that require contact to contact, live with health care professional, or live in contaminated environments. Student athletes are most at risk. They can catch infections from gyms and locker rooms that weren 't properly cleaned. If there is any suspicion of having the infection, one should go to their doctor to determine if it is a MRSA infection. The longer one waits the harder it will be to treat it.

ICUs have complex patient populaces, which can act as vessels for breeding and disseminating MRSA throughout the rest of the hospital. Daily chlorhexidine bathing has been proven through multiple studies as an effective method to prevent or reduce the prevalence of MRSA and other hospital acquired infections in ICUs; however, there is not consistent buy-in by nursing staff in some ICUs. In an effort to better utilize the evidence-based research and increase patient health-outcomes hospitals should educated and train staff on proper bathing protocols to optimized

Risk factors of CA-MRSA include: skin-to-skin contact with an infected person, loss of integrity allowing penetration of bacteria into the body, contact with contaminated items and surfaces, crowded living conditions, sharing personal items, poor hygiene, having a history of ectopic dermatitis, and exposure to family members or friends who work in a health care setting. Also, there are a number of risk factors for CA-MRSA among student athletes including: playing close contact sports, receiving a skin abrasion and trauma, a high BMI, participating in cosmetic body shaving, coming into contact with a draining lesion or is a carrier of MRSA, and sharing contaminated equipment (Alex & Letizia,

Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus also referred to as MRSA is a type bacterium that becomes immune to many antibiotics used to treat even the most common infection. MRSA has become an issue in hospitals around the globe as it is known to constanly change over time. Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus (MRSA) usually occurs in day care home, hospitals and other related health care facilities. It was reported that in 2005 the majority of all infection related cases came from an antibiotic-resistant bacterium, resulting in a high rate of death (Tacconelli, et al 2007). In 1961 (Enright, et al 2002) methicillin-resistant staphylococcus (MRSA) was first discovered in the United Kingdom and later made its way to Asia and after to the United States.

When penicillin was released to the public in 1944, it was a miracle drug. Infections that had been killers were suddenly treatable. Doctors recommended it generously, both for illnesses that needed it and illnesses that didn’t. Before long, however, it took much stronger doses to see penicillin’s effects. When the antibiotic arms race began in 1944, most physicians assumed that new antibiotics would be discovered or created to keep up with the evolving resistance in bacteria, but the bacteria are constantly evolving new defenses and doctors are starting to run low on antibiotic ammunition. MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, is one of many types of bacteria

As nurses, taking care of patients with MRSA can be seen in everyday practice. It can be seen in patients with sepsis from an infected wound, patients who have pneumonia, or patients who only have a colonization for it (“Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), 2015”). Regardless if it’s colonization or an active infection, and the source of the infection, proper policies and procedures are in place to reduce the transmission of MRSA to other patients in the hospital or nursing home setting. This includes performing proper hand hygiene and standard precautions, as well as wearing protective gown and gloves when entering the patient’s room. It is very important to adhere to these policies and procedures and educate others on the importance of these policies and procedures to reduce the transmission of MRSA to others.