What If We Don't? A Retrospective Review of Standard Precautions for MRSA.

Background: There are conflicting data in the literature about the need for contact isolation for active methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.

Methods: In this retrospective review, we compared the MRSA bloodstream standardized infection ratio for 1 year while contact precautions were in place for MRSA infections and for 1 year after routine contact precautions for MRSA were no longer in place.

Results: There was no change in the MRSA bloodstream standardized infection ratio between the two time periods.

Discussion: With cessation of contact precautions for MRSA infections, there was no change in bloodstream MRSA standardized infection ratios across a large health system. While standardized infection ratios would not detect asymptomatic horizontal transmission of a pathogen, it is reassuring that bloodstream infections - a known complication of MRSA colonization status - did not rise with cessation of contact precautions.