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Study finds widespread testing did not combat MRSA

Quality Improvement Monitor, March 13, 2008

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association has found that widespread screening of patients for methicillin-resistant stapholoccocus aureus (MRSA) in a Swiss hospital failed to reduce the number of hospital-acquired infections and wasn't cost effective, according to the Chicago Tribune.

"It wasn't what we expected. We were very surprised," lead author Stephan Harbarth, MD, told the Tribune.

The results will likely fuel the debate in the medical community about how to best combat MRSA, which kills nearly 19,000 people a year, the paper reported. In 2007, Illinois became the first state to require hospitals to test all at-risk patients for MRSA.

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