Morbidity and cost burden of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in early onset ventilator-associated pneumonia
2006

Impact of MRSA on Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia

Sample size: 499 publication 10 minutes Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Shorr Andrew F, Tabak Ying P, Gupta Vikas, Johannes RS, Liu Larry Z, Kollef Marin H

Primary Institution: Washington Hospital Center

Hypothesis

What are the clinical and economic outcomes associated with MRSA infection in patients with early onset ventilator-associated pneumonia?

Conclusion

MRSA-related VAP is associated with increased hospital and ICU length of stay and higher costs compared to MSSA-related VAP.

Supporting Evidence

  • MRSA patients had a longer overall length of stay compared to MSSA patients.
  • MRSA was associated with increased ICU length of stay and total costs.
  • Patients with MRSA were significantly older than those with MSSA.

Takeaway

This study shows that patients with a type of pneumonia caused by a resistant bacteria called MRSA stay in the hospital longer and cost more to treat than those with a different type of pneumonia.

Methodology

A retrospective cohort analysis was performed using data from 59 US hospitals over a 24-month period to assess clinical and economic outcomes of MRSA versus MSSA in patients with VAP.

Potential Biases

Coding practices for ICD-9-CM may vary across hospitals, introducing uncertainty in the findings.

Limitations

The study only included early onset VAP cases within five days of hospitalization, which may underestimate the prevalence of VAP and the impact of MRSA.

Participant Demographics

Patients with MRSA-related VAP were older, more likely to have comorbidities like congestive heart failure, and were primarily medical patients.

Statistical Information

P-Value

0.03

Confidence Interval

4.4 (0.6 to 8.2)

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/cc4934

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