Recently discharged hospital patients have higher risks of spreading superbug infections to their family and caregivers following hospitalization, a recent University of Iowa study found.
The study, published Aug. 7 in Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology, used large insurance claim databases that included 158 million enrollees with two or more family members on the same plan. The researchers revised more than 424,000 cases of MRSA infections among 343,524 insured people.
The study found 4,724 cases of MRSA potentially transmitted to family members after the patient was hospitalized and had a diagnosis of MRSA. Family members exposed to a patient who was hospitalized and diagnosed with MRSA were more than 7,000% more likely to get an MRSA infection compared with families not exposed to a patient hospitalized or exposed to MRSA in the previous 30 days.
They also found 8,064 possible transmissions of MRSA after hospitalization to family members in patients who did not have a MRSA infection. These family members were 44% more likely to get MRSA in the month after that patient was discharged.
The more times a patient was sent to the hospital also increased the likelihood of a household member getting MRSA. If a patient was hospitalized one to three days in the previous month, the family members had a 34% increased chance of getting MRSA compared to families with no recent hospitalizations. If a patient was hospitalized for four to 10 days, the chances increase to 49%. For patients hospitalized more than 10 days, the odds of a family member getting infected rose by 70% to 80%.
Lead author Aaron Miller, MD, research assistant professor of internal medicine-infectious diseases at the University of Iowa, recommended hospitals enhance infection control practices, including testing for MRSA especially at discharge and even if no symptoms are present.
MRSA is an infection that does not respond to most antibiotic treatment. It generally occurs in patients who have been in a healthcare facility such as a hospital or nursing home. It spreads in the communities through skin-to-skin contact. Most people with MRSA have no symptoms, according to an Aug. 7 news release.