Researchers compared rates of colonization by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, late-onset sepsis and mortality in single-patient neonatal intensive care unit rooms and open-unit rooms in a recent study published in the journal Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology.
The study was conducted in the NICU of a tertiary referral center which was organized into single-patient and open-unit rooms. Clinical data sets including bed location and microbiology results were then examined over the next 29 months.
Of the more than 1,800 patients studied, single-patient and open-unit models had similar incidences of MRSA colonization and MRSA colonization-free survival times. Late-onset sepsis rates were also similar in single-patient and open-unit models, as were sepsis-free survival rates and the combined outcome of sepsis or death.
Ultimately, the researchers concluded single-patient rooms did not reduce the rates of MRSA colonization, late-onset sepsis or death. However, they did discover the NICU's MRSA colonization rate was impacted by hand hygiene compliance, regardless of room configuration.