MRSA Methicillin Resistant Staph Aureus

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methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (mrsa is a bacterium responsible for difficult-to-treat infections in humans and other animals, including pets. it may also be referred to as multiple-resistant staphylococcus aureus or oxacillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (orsa). mrsa is by definition a strain of staph aureus that is resistant to a large group of antibiotics called the beta-lactams, which include the penicillins and the cephalosporins.

mrsa was discovered in 1961 in the uk. it made its first major appearance in the united states in 1981. mrsa is often referred to in the press as a "superbug".

mrsa is becoming more prevalent in healthcare settings. mrsa are frequent causes of healthcare-associated bloodstream and catheter-related infections. in the past decade or so the number of mrsa infections in the united states has increased significantly. a 2007 report in emerging infectious diseases, a publication of the cdc, estimated that the number of mrsa infections treated in hospitals doubled nationwide, from approximately 127,000 in 1999 to 278,000 in 2005, while at the same time deaths increased from 11,000 to more than 17,000. another study led by the cdc and published in the october 17, 2007 issue of the journal of the american medical association estimated that mrsa would have been responsible for 94,360 serious infections and associated with 18,650 hospital stay-related deaths in the us in 2005. these figures suggest that mrsa infections are responsible for more deaths in the us each year than aids.

mrsa are also an emerging cause of community-associated infection, especially skin and soft tissue infections and necrotizing pneumonia. according to the cdc data, the proportion of infections that are antimicrobial resistant has been growing. in 1974, mrsa infections accounted for 2% of the total number of staph infections; in 1995 it was 22%; in 2004 it was 63%. 15% of reported infections were community-associated, where infection occurred in people without documented contact with healthcare settings. this figure does not take into account the unreported cases.

these figures are estimates for a number of reasons. one reason is that health care professionals, i.e. doctors, are not treating patients with skin wounds in a consistent manner, some do cultures and some do not. also, many states, including ohio, are not required to report mrsa; therefore the statistics are questimates at best.

people infected with antibiotic-resistant organisms like mrsa are more likely to have longer and more expensive hospital stays, and may be more likely to die as a result of the infection. when the drug of choice for treating their infections doesn't work, they require treatment with second- or third-choice medicines that may be less effective, more toxic and more expensive.

so, this means that if you or i get an mrsa infection, we may suffer more, and we may pay more for our treatment. yet american society as a whole suffers more and pays more too because of the increased burden and expense in the healthcare system.

to help combat mrsa in healthcare settings, cdc has published guidelines for the management of multidrug-resistant organisms in the healthcare settings. infection control guidelines produced by the cdc and the healthcare infection control and prevention advisory committee (hicpac) are central to the prevention and control of healthcare infections and ultimately, mrsa in healthcare settings. replicating these efforts in healthcare settings nationally and implementing basic infection control practices out in the community could dramatically reduce mrsa and staph-related death and complications. why isn't this happening in ohio?

please see online at the cdc.gov website: cdc guidelines, management of multidrug-resistant organisms in healthcare settings, 2006 and cdc provides information about mrsa skin infections.

mrsa victims speak out

2-3-2009

hello, i just wanted to introduce myself. my name is joe. i am new to this group and very new to mrsa. even as a healthcare provider for 15 years, i thought i was in the clear. i was wrong. i was just diagnosed and am undergoing treatment, wound care, and more, just to get me back to where i might be able to return to my job again. my concern is always for the ones i come in contact

with. now i must place myself not only on that list, but at the head of this list. how does this affect me? my family? my church? my job? clients?

they just confirmed the mrsa, but have not discerned whether it is healthcare acquired or community acquired. i lost my health insurance at the end of the year, and now have limited resources to get the help i need. i was out of town when i had an outbreak, wound up in a hospital bed for 2 days, narrowly escaped a tracheotomy during the stay.

joe

1-25-2009

ok, is anybody else tired of hearing these words.. " i am not sure, i

don't know?" i fired my id doctor, she's an idiot, she thinks i am

cured!! i am on the infusion pump and she ordered my nurse who changes

my dressing to take my picc line out... ok first of all i have groshong,

which my surgeon had to insert, and i am still running fevers!!

my medical doc doesn't want to be in charge of infusion antibiotics, he

wants me to go to another id doc. well i tried to make an appointment

with a guy that was recommended to me by my nurse. his office said that

they were uncomfortable as i was already a patient of doc ### and

i needed to have her send a referral over. ok, well her office refused.

that is illegal, you can not prevent a patient from getting a second opinion!! i fired her butt and gave them 24 hours for a referral to be faxed. amazingly they did it. i have been through hell and am still suffering. i am done being a nice patient, one who will let the doc's run me over. it is not their lives they are screwing with.

cheryl

1-27-2009

i don't know who i am e-mailing but i think my daughter had contact with someone at this web site about her mrsa. the e-mail i read she sent to me on oct 12 2008. angie died on 11/28/2008. she was 29 years old. she contracted mrsa following a surgery in april of 2007. she was in the hospital many times and no one seemed to know how to help her. as you can imagine i am devastated by the loss of my daughter and really don't understand why. i hadn't been on my computer since she passed and when i came across this e-mail she sent i felt like i needed to send something back. god bless

charlotte

angie's mom

angie of st. charles, missouri, died on friday, november 28, 2008, at the age of 29. wife of craig; dear daughter of rick and charlotte; loving mother of logan; cherished sister of tracy and jason; treasured granddaughter of velma and james; dear daughter-in-law of kimberly; dear aunt and cherished friend to many.

angie's original outreach to the yahoo groups mrsa support group posted 10-12-2008:

first off i would like to give all my thoughts and prayers to any

family that has had to go through this. this is my story and i am

still searching for answers. on april 17th 2007 i went into depaul

hospital in saint louis missouri and had a tendon and nerve surgery

done on my leg this was a scheduled surgery. 2 days after my surgery i

called one of the two surgeons because my leg was so swollen and i

asked if i could just cut the bandage off a little so it was not so

tight. he agreed that i could but to my surprise at on of my incisions

i had boil the size of a golf ball at my knee so i continued to cut

all over my leg there were large amounts of small blisters next to

the knee area and they itched so bad. i called back and he said i

need to see you right away. i went in and he said i had contact

dermatitis he acted very strange through this whole appt. he was the

kind of dr that would sit and talk and talk this day he did not. and

he popped everything and scrubbed my leg down with iodine. two days

after that i had a huge boil in my groin area. i called he told me

told me it was a swollen lymph node and not to worry because when i

went into see him he put me on bactrim. so the boil became so big it

popped on its own. i have never seen anything like it and to be

honest i was totally totally grossed out. i was feeling so ill with

fever and could not even get out of my bed. i knew no better i

thought it was the effects of the surgery ( my dr the people i

trusted never told me other wise) well lets just say it's been hell

since this point i could go about a month and a half without getting

these boils. now they were only under my arms i did not know any

better so once i felt so bad i said to my mom i think i need to go to

the er. i went they told me i had mrsa.. i looked at them like they

were stupid i had no clue what it was i trusted in my dr's. and how

could this be missed? they took blood tested my white blood cells

and again sent me home on bactrim and the stuff to put in my nose. in

december 2007 i had a huge one under my arm went back to the er they

admitted me for 5 days since then its been hell on wheels i have had

at least six surgerys to drain and pack boils and been in and out of

the hospital... i can't kick this its now october 2008 and i fight

this everyday. i spent 3 weeks in the hospital in september the only

thing they do is test your blood give you vanc and send you on your

way i feel run down flu like everyday of my life. this has effected

my life so much i can't work because i am so sick all the time i am

going through a divorce this has ruined my family. so now being a

single parent of a wonderful 11 year old son i just want answers and

i thought to my self what better way then to reach out to people that

have been through the same thing. anything any one could say or do to

give me answers or just help me kick this. i am taking right now for

two weeks bactrim 800/160 2xs per day ...rifampin 300 mg 2 times per

day. they just started me on doxycycline 100 3xs per day. i put the

stuff in my nose every day and use hibiclens in the shower every day.

i have to get better i have to go back to work i am about to loose my

house and i just want to be able to take care of my son the way i

used to. i just want my life back!!

thank you so much!!

angie beer

i am requesting legislation to protect the citizens of the state of ohio similar in scope to illinois sb0233 mrsa screening and reporting act. i am further requesting that the cdc guidelines for management of multidrug-resistant organisms in healthcare settings, 2006 as well as cdc guidelines for mrsa skin infection be utilized in formulating this legislation.

my request to you, a citizen of ohio

in april 2008, i acquired mrsa after a hysterectomy. i was shocked to discover that mrsa is not a reportable disease in ohio. it is my fervent belief that in order to protect the citizens of ohio, we need legislation that is similar in scope to illinois sb0233 mrsa screening and reporting act. i further believe that the cdc guidelines for management of multidrug-resistant organisms in healthcare settings, 2006 as well as cdc guidelines for mrsa skin infection should be utilized in formulating this legislation.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/pdf/ar/mdroguideline2006.pdf

http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dhqp/ar_mrsa_ca_skin.html

i have presented the attached document to my state legislator, jon husted. please review this document and if you agree with me, contact your ohio state representatives to make your voice be heard for the benefit of all of the citizens of the state of ohio. if you are not sure who your state legislators are you can locate them at:

legislature.state.oh.us

i thank you for your time and attention to this matter which is vital to the health of the citizens of the state of ohio.

caryl j. carver, rn, bsn

[email protected]