MRSA Symptoms

The UK government is ramping up measures to fight MRSA by screening more and more patients before they are admitted to hospital for planned procedures. MRSA is prevalent in the community and is particularly dangerous if allowed to spread within a hospital environment where people with weakened immune systems are even more vulnerable.

Swabs are taken about two weeks before patients are due to be admitted, and if MRSA is found they are offered a five-day course of nasal ointment or other antiseptic treatment.

Although surgery is not normally delayed by such screening and subsequent treatment for MRSA, if the surgery is “highly invasive” the treatment may take longer. Highly invasive surgey includes procedures such as hip replacements.

According to statistics from the NHS, more than 1,400 MRSA tests were carried out last month and Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust plan to screen a total of 12,000 people this year.

Dr Jean O’Driscoll, trust director of infection prevention and control, said:

Generally speaking the presence of MRSA on a person’s skin is nothing to worry about.

But when invasive procedures like surgery are carried out this increases the risk of harmless MRSA, present on many people’s skin, passing into the bloodstream and giving rise to MRSA bacteraemia infection, which can be serious.

Low-risk patients are exempt from screening for eye, dental, mouth and minor skin procedures. In contrast, some emergency patients are screened within 12 hours of admission if they are high risk, the trust said. The high risk group includes people who have previously had MRSA, are in intensive care or have recently been in hospital or a nursing or residential home.

A MRSA screening is a process whose purpose is to detect the presence of the MRSA bacteria in patients. MRSA screenings are used primarily on colonised patients and on infected patients after they have been treated, to determine whether any resistant bacteria remains.

At a community level, MRSA screening may help to identify the source of a MRSA outbreak, and at a national level it can help to identify genetic characteristics of a MRSA strain.

MRSA Culture

The most commonly used test to identify MRSA colonisation is the culture. A swab is taken from the patient and is then cultured. Swabs are usually taken from the nose, though they can also be collected from wound sites or skin lesions on people with known MRSA infections. The culture is a definitive test and usually takes one to two days to complete.

When Are MRSA Screenings Performed?

A MRSA screening may be requested when a doctor, health department, researcher or hospital wants to evaluate MRSA colonisation in a patient, family member or group of people within the community. Certain populations in a community whose members have close contact may be tested for MRSA when an increased number of infections occur within their group. Example of these populations include football teams, residents of nursing homes and health care workers. Sometimes patients who have previously been treated for MRSA will be screened to determine whether the bacteria is still present.

MRSA Screening On Admission To Hospital

To cut down the number of hospital acquired MRSA infections, some hospitals have introduced a screening process that takes place when patients are admitted. Additionally, healthcare workers and family members of carriers may also be screened for MRSA.