Preoperative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus decontamination decreased the surgical site infection rate significantly among patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery with hardware implantation, according to a recent study published in JAMA Surgery.
Here are five key notes on the study:
1. Researchers examined a prospective database of patients undergoing elective orthopedic surgery with hardware implantation at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Houston, from October 1, 2012 to December 31, 2013. Researchers compared cohort groups before and after the interventions were implemented.
2. The interventions included the following:
• During the preoperative visit, all patients watched an educational video about MRSA decontamination
• The patients were given chlorhexidine washcloths, oral rinse and nasal povidone-iodine solution to be used the night before and the morning of scheduled surgery.
3. A total of 709 patients were analyzed and all of them completed the MRSA decontamination protocol.
4. In the intervention group, four out of 365 developed an SSI whereas 13 out of 344 patients in the control group developed an SSI.
5. Preoperative MRSA decontamination interventions decreased the SSI rate by more than 50 percent in these patients.
