Study: Incidence of MRSA in hospitalized children increases 10-fold
Patient Safety Monitor Alert
May 19, 2010
The number of children hospitalized for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection has increased from two out of every 1,000 admissions in 1999 to 21 out of every 1,000 admissions in 2008, reports a study in a recent issue of Pediatrics. However, the rise in incidence is mostly due to community-acquired MRSA, and not hospital-acquired.
The study analyzed trends in the admission of children at 25 hospitals over a 10-year period related to the presence of S. aureus. During that time 64,813 patients were discharged with an S. aureaus diagnosis, with the aforementioned increases in MRSA rates. Due to an increase in prescription of clindamycin, a drug used to treat S. aureus, researchers are concerned that more cases of MRSA will develop because of a growing resistance to the medication.
