A multidisciplinary clinical trial studying bloodstream infection and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus reduction techniques has received a Clinical Research Achievement Award from the Clinical Research Forum, an organization comprised of academic medical centers and organizations focused on providing leadership and support for clinical research.
In the REDUCE MRSA trial including 74 adult intensive care units and more than 74,000 patients — the largest study on this topic to date, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — researchers compared the effectiveness of three MRSA prevention practices: routine care, giving germ-killing soap and ointment only to patients with MRSA and giving the soap and ointment to all ICU patients.
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They found routine care did not significantly reduce MRSA or blood stream infections, but providing germ-killing soap and ointment only to patients with MRSA reduced bloodstream infections caused by any germ by 23 percent. Furthermore, providing the soap and ointment to all ICU patients reduced MRSA by 37 percent and bloodstream infections caused by any germ by 44 percent.
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
The study is a collaborative effort between the University of California, Irvine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Hospital Corporation of America and the CDC.
REDUCE MRSA is one of 10 trials to receive this award, which honors research projects that have the potential to benefit the health and well-being of the general public.
This year's winning projects span a variety of scientific and medical issues, including treatment for lymphoma, reducing healthcare-associated infections, minimally invasive transplant procedures and dosing strategies for anticoagulation control.
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