   |
 |
|
|
Staph: A common infection is causing uncommon problems in hospitals, a new study says.
ATLANTA—Drug resistant bacteria are making hospitals dangerous places to be sick. Even more frightening is the fact that these bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to drug treatment, raising concern that in time physicians may have few or no treatment options. Staphylococcus aureus (or staph) is the leading cause of these infections.
An article in an upcoming issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases reports on this trend and demonstrates the cost and real-life effect of drug resistant bacteria in New York City hospitals in 1995.
"S. aureus infections cost New York City well over $400 million, for the treatment of 13,500 people," says Robert J. Rubin, M.D., President of The Lewin Group, and director of the study. "The infections doubled the average length of stay to 20 days, increased per patient costs to $32,100 and the death rate to 10 percent, as compared to average hospital stays of 9 days, costing $13,263, with mortality rates of 4.1%." The study used hospital discharge data collected by the N.Y. State Department of Health, standard sources for health-care costs, and estimates provided by an expert clinical panel.
"The study demonstrates the economic and human burden of these infections, not only in New York, but across this country and around the world," Rubin adds. Although little economic evidence has been gathered elsewhere, staph bacteria are the leading cause of hospital pneumonia and surgical site infections and the second leading cause of hospital bloodstream infections. In fact, 95% of staph infections in patients worldwide do not respond to first-line antibiotics (penicillin or ampicillin), and now approximately 30% of all infections do not respond to second-line antibiotics.
The medical and research/policy community is particularly concerned about the growing resistance of the bacteria to commonly used drugs. "Methicillin (a form of penicillin)-resistant staph is now endemic in many hospitals and could be considered epidemic in some," Rubin says. "If you have a methicillin-resistant staph infection your chances of dying are almost three times greater than if you have a methicillin-sensitive staph infection. Currently," Rubin adds, "the treatment of choice for these strains is vancomycin, but even now we are seeing vancomycin-resistant bacteria. The development of a vancomycin-resistant S. aureus would leave physicians with few treatment options and return us in some respects to the dangers of the preantiobiotic era."
"The cost in economic and human terms is enormous. The dangers are great. Far greater efforts should be made both inside and outside the hospital to reduce the incidence of [methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive] S. aureus nosocomial infections," Rubin says.
For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact Janet Lowenbach at 703-218 5607, jlowenbach@lewin.com. Access the full article at http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/vol5no1/rubin.htm. All material in Emerging Infectious Diseases is in the public domain and may be used without special permission; proper citation, however, is appreciated.
For more information on this or related topics, see...
Top of Page | Current
Issue | Upcoming Issue | Past Issue | Search
| Home