Simulation shows hospitals that cooperate on infection control obtain better results than hospitals acting alone.

ABSTRACT: Efforts to control life-threatening infections, such as with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), can be complicated when patients are transferred from one hospital to another. Using a detailed computer simulation model of all hospitals in Orange County, California, we explored the effects when combinations of hospitals tested all patients at admission for MRSA and adopted procedures to limit transmission among patients who tested positive. Called "contact isolation," these procedures specify precautions for health care workers interacting with an infected patient, such as wearing gloves and gowns. Our simulation demonstrated that each hospital's decision to test for MRSA and implement contact isolation procedures could affect the MRSA prevalence in all other hospitals. Thus

SUBMITTER: Lee BY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3763190 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature