Black Americans, American Indians and uninsured people are among those most at-risk for contracting methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus after undergoing major surgery, according to research presented at the Society for Critical Care Medicine's 43rd annual meeting and published in Medscape.
Researchers analyzed data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample database to determine groups most at-risk for healthcare-associated MRSA infections, for which the nationwide occurrence is 1.03 percent.
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Other risk factors for developing MRSA included being treated in a small hospital, being treated in a nonteaching hospital, being treated in the southern U.S. or being older, according to the report.
While these factors may increase the risk of contracting MRSA after surgery, the study made no comment on how these factors might affect long-term health outcomes for those who do contract the infection.
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