McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine

McMaster Textbook of Internal Medicine
Interviews
Infectious Diseases
Treatment of confirmed MRSA carriers among health-care workers

Treatment of confirmed MRSA carriers among health-care workers

2018-07-30

Mark Loeb

Is a confirmed carrier status of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or other drug-resistant bacteria in a health-care worker an indication for treatment? Should the worker refrain from having contact with patients?

Mark Loeb: That is a good question, but it depends because you do not generally screen health-care workers. If there was a reason for screening them, for example, if they were linked to a little outbreak, then for sure it would be very important to screen them and eradicate the bacteria. If it is a health-care worker, if it is someone working in a hospital who has very limited exposure to patients, then it is not so important. It really depends on the case.

What is most important is when a health-care worker has been linked to a cluster of cases of MRSA [or other organisms]. Then it is very important to try to eradicate the organism.

See also

First steps in suspected sepsis What should be our first steps when we suspect sepsis?
Carrier screening in health-care workers treating patients with MDR strains Should the health-care personnel treating a patient infected with a multidrug-resistant strain undergo carrier screening? If yes, when should the tests be performed: on a regular basis in all staff or only in case of exposure?
Alternative treatments in multidrug-resistant bacterial infections What are the alternative treatments in patients with multidrug-resistant bacterial strain infections? Could such treatments (eg, phage therapy) offer a chance for cure in such patients?
Global burden and prevalence trends of CDI Could you estimate the global burden of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and describe the prevalence trends of this infection in the recent decades?
Toxicological tests for detecting intoxication with NPSs Are there any simple, quick, and reliable toxicological tests that exclude or confirm intoxication with novel psychoactive substances?
Antibiotic resistance: how to handle in clinical practice A lecture by Prof. Mark Loeb, from McMaster University, Canada, delivered at McMaster International Review Course in Internal Medicine in Kraków in May 2016.

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