Burn units as a source of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections
J. M. Boyce, R. L. White, W. A. Causey and W. R. Lockwood
During a 3 1/2-year period (January 1978 through June 1981), 245 patients
in a university hospital became colonized or infected with
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. During the first 18 months,
the incidence of colonization and infection was only 0.05%. After a focal
outbreak of methicillin-resistant S aureus in the burn unit, acquisition of
the organism by patients on other wards increased significantly. Nonburn
patients acquired the organism more often during time periods when newly
admitted burn patients acquired methicillin-resistant S aureus. After the
burn unit was closed, acquisition of the organism among nonburn patients on
adult surgical and medical services decreased significantly. A
questionnaire survey of other institutions disclosed that large outbreaks
of this infection occurred more frequently in hospitals with burn units.
These studies suggest that the occurrence of methicillin-resistant S aureus
infections in burn units may lead to increased transmission of the organism
to nonburn patients and that control of the infection in such units may
reduce spread of the organism to patients without burns.
