Antimicrobial drug use and infection control practices associated with the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in European hospitals

MacKenzie, F.M.
Bruce, J.
Struelens, M.J.
Goossens, H.
Mollison, J.
Gould, I.M.

Open link

Publication date

March 2007

DOI

10.1111/j.1469-0691.2006.01592.x

Publisher

European Society of Clinical Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Abstract

ABSTRACTMajor regional variations in the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are observed across Europe. This study investigated hospital MRSA prevalence in relation to patterns of antimicrobial use and infection control policies in an observational, cross-sectional study that used retrospective data from 2001 and linear regression to model relationships. MRSA prevalence (median 20.8%, n = 173 hospitals) and antimicrobial consumption (median 55.2 defined daily doses/100 bed-days, n = 140 hospitals) both varied significantly according to geographical region (p <0.001). MRSA prevalence and antimicrobial consumption data were provided by 128 hospitals, and showed a strong statistical relationship between macrolide ...