How To Teach About Hospital Acquired MRSA

Staphylococcus "staph" bacteria are normally found on the skin and in the nose. Most of the time, they cause no symptoms. In the 1960s, scientists identified a new form of staph called hospital-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) that was causing serious infections in patients in hospitals and skilled nursing facilities. It's called "methicillin-resistant" because it first developed resistance to an antibiotic known as methicillin that was a key weapon against staph infections at that time. The term "hospital-acquired" differentiates this infection from another form of MRSA that is acquired in the community. A good teaching plan can educate people about the risk of this infection.

Instructions

• 1

  Define the terms. It's important to ensure that patients, family members, and staff understand MRSA, antibiotic resistance, infection, and colonization. A patient is colonized with MRSA when he has the organism growing in his nose, on his skin, or in another part of the body. If the organism causes symptoms, the patient then has an infection.

• 2

  Identify risk factors. Describe situations that increase a patient's chances of acquiring MRSA in the hospital. Some high risk groups include debilitated patients in intensive care units, those who have recently received one or more antibiotics, and individuals with a pressure sore or surgical incision. When a patient has a medical device such as a urinary catheter, feeding tube, or IV line, those devices can allow MRSA to enter the body and cause a serious infection.

• 3

  Describe how MRSA is spread. In the hospital setting, the main route for MRSA transmission is on the hands of physicians, nurses, and other health care providers. A patient who touches infected areas on another patient can also be colonized with MRSA.

• 4

  Discuss ways to keep MRSA from spreading. Proper cleaning of the hands is the most effective way of preventing the spread of MRSA in the hospital setting. Hospitals also can require precautions such as having caregivers wear gloves and gowns when caring for patients with MRSA infections.

• 5

  Describe what an MRSA infection looks like. The infected person may have large, painful, reddened boils or abscesses under the skin or cuts that are red and filled with pus. Impetigo, which looks like pus-filled blisters on skin surfaces, is also a form of MRSA infection. In critically ill patients, MRSA can cause pneumonia or a bloodstream infection known as bacteremia.

• 6

  Outline resources and contacts. Every hospital has a department that deals with infection prevention and control. Patients, staff, and visitors can ask to speak with an expert on infection prevention if they have questions about MRSA.