Microbiology Discussion: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)- Deshia Saucer
Microbiology Discussion: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
There are special precautions for seeing a patient with a potential Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection. This is because MRSA detection has become challenging and complex (Rajeswarie et al., 2022). Healthcare personnel should take various precautions including hand washing with water and soap or applying an alcohol-based sanitizer on the hands before and after caring for the patient (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2023). Healthcare personnel should also thoroughly clean the hospital rooms and medical equipment. Additionally, they should apply contact precautions when caring for potential MRSA patients, whether infected, colonized, or carrying (CDC, 2023).
For check-in, I will ensure the front desk team books the potential MRSA patient in their room. Patients with MRSA can only share a room with someone with MRSA (CDC, 2023). If they have family members or a support person, I will request them to wear a gown or glove. Additionally, I will restrict their movements. Patients with MRSA should be asked to remain in their hospital rooms for most of the time. This means they should be prevented from visiting common areas, including cafeterias and gift shops (CDC, 2023).
The potential MRSA patients should wait in a separate room. According to the CDC and based on the current evidence, contact precautions can help to prevent the spread of the bacteria (2023). The CDC claims that treating patients in the same room or very close to each other can increase the risk of a patient getting MRSA due to the easy spread of the bacteria on dirty hands and equipment (2023).
When taking vitals, the staff tests the patient’s skin to detect MRSA. The test involves rubbing a cotton-tipped swab on the patient’s skin or nostrils (CDC, 2023). The staff should apply topical medicines and antiseptic to reduce the quantity of staph on the patient’s body (CDC, 2023). The staff should also wear gowns and gloves. After the patient has left, I would advise the staff to clean their hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer after removing their gowns and gloves.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). MRSA. https://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/community/patients
Rajeswarie, S., Pradha, V., D’Souza, A. O., & Vinod, R. (2022). Comparison of Phenotypic and Genotypic Characterization Methods for the Detection of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus. Cureus, 14(3).
CAM:
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) is an infection caused by a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to antibiotics used to treat regular staph infections (Mayo Clinic., 2022). Staph bacteria are found on the skin or in the noses of about 1/3 of the population and are considered generally harmless unless they enter an open wound (Mayo Clinic., 2022). MRSA is often contracted after being in health care facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, or dialysis facilities, this is known as healthcare – associated (HA-MRSA) (Mayo Clinic., 2022) and are typically associated with invasive procedures or devices after a healthcare worker touched an unclean surface or unclean hands (Mayo Clinic., 2022). MRSA can also spread through the community, known as community-associated (CA-MRSA) (Mayo Clinic., 2022).
In my healthcare clinic where I am the front desk/registration associate, we see suspected MRSA often as well as other skin infections such as simple staph infections and cellulitis. When a patient comes in with a complaint of a skin infection that they suspect may be MRSA, we register them like we would any other patient, but we inform our providers and clinical staff before they call the patient back so that they can wear the proper PPE before rooming the patient and getting vitals, and proceeding with the patients treatments. Then we ask them to sit in the lobby away from any other patients, and once they are pulled into the back office, we clean the areas where they had sat and touched with clinical cleaning materials as well as wearing gloves and gowns to protect our scrubs and after we clean the areas they had touched we dispose of out PPE properly and wash our hands really well.
Once the patient is in their room, they will be roomed by themselves or in rooms with other patients with MRSA infections (CDC., 2019). At my clinic, all patients are put into their own room so we would not have shared a room. Healthcare providers will put on the proper PPE of gloves and a gown to protect their clothes (CDC., 2019). Providers and medical staff should be washing their hands before and after each interaction with the patient and should avoid touching their own face or exposed skin and should change their PPE between each interaction. When leaving the patients room, the medical staff will remove and dispose of their gown and gloves and wash their hands (CDC., 2019). Patients will be asked to stay in their rooms as much as possible and asked to avoid common areas such as cafeterias or gift shops (CDC., 2019).
After the patient leaves, all medical instruments used, such as vital instruments like stethoscopes and blood pressure cuffs, should be cleaned thoroughly and any bedding the patient used should be changed. The patient’s room should also be cleaned and disinfected before putting any other patients in that room.
References:
CDC (2019). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): For Patients. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/mrsa/community/patients.html
Mayo Clinic (2022). MRSA Infection. Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mrsa/symptoms-causes/syc-20375336