Study: Drug-Resistant Infections Increasing in U.S. Hospitals;Resistance Tripled 1997-2002

Study: Drug-Resistant Infections Increasing in U.S. Hospitals; Resistance Among Strep Infections Nearly Tripled Between 1997-2002

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EVANSTON, Ill., Aug. 5 /U.S. Newswire/ -- A new study finds the number of both streptococcal and staphylococcal infections resistant to antibiotics nearly tripled between 1997 and 2002 in U.S. hospitals. About 4.3 percent of inpatient strep infections and 28.1 percent of inpatient staph infections were considered drug resistant by mid-year 2002.

The findings are published in a report released today by Solucient. More than 2 million inpatient discharge records from 2,800 U.S. hospitals were analyzed for the study. Evanston, Ill.-based Solucient develops health care information databases and decision support software for providers, insurance companies, employers, and pharmaceutical companies.

The number of inpatient strep infection cases reported as drug-resistant increased from 1.35 percent in the first quarter of 1997 to 4.28 percent by mid-2002. And over 28 percent of inpatient staph cases were reported as drug resistant in second quarter 2002, rising from 9.94 percent in the first quarter of 1997.

"Our hospital-specific study confirms recent reports that show an increase in drug-resistant strep and staph bacteria overall," said Dave Foster, PhD, MPH, vice president of Clinical Informatics at Solucient. A December 2000 study published by the New England Journal of Medicine looked at the growth of drug-resistant strep infections in the United States.

Several species of streptococcal bacteria exist, causing a variety of illnesses. Perhaps most familiar is "strep throat," caused by Group A strep, which is typically easy to treat. However, other species of streptococci cause potentially life-threatening diseases, such as pneumonia and wound infections. Antibiotic resistance is a significant problem in treating illness caused by these species of strep.

Two species of staphylococcal bacteria that cause disease are Staphylococcus aureus and Stapylococcus epidermidis. Staph aureus causes a variety of serious infections, including post-operative wound infections, endocarditis (infection of heart valves), and osteomyelitis (infection of bone). Staph epidermidis causes infections of foreign devices placed in the body, such as prostheses used to replace hip or knee joints, which can then spread to surrounding tissue. Both Staph aureus and Staph epidermidis have developed considerable antibiotic resistance.

"Our findings clearly show the importance of the health care industry's continued efforts to control the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria," Foster said. "For health care professionals, awareness of the problem, communication to increase understanding among patients and consumers, and appropriate use of antibiotics are essential steps."

Media Note: The new Solucient report, Solucient Analysis: Prevalence of Antibiotic Resistant Staphylococcal and Streptococcal Infections in U.S. Inpatient Populations, is available in PDF form by e-mailing tlopez@solucient.com.

Solucient is the leading source of health care business intelligence. Its mission is to provide comprehensive, results-oriented information to drive business growth, manage costs, and deliver quality care. Solucient's expertise and proven solutions enable providers, payers, employers, and pharmaceutical companies to achieve results and realize value. By bridging the gap between data and information, knowledge and value, Solucient drives intelligent business decisions. For more information, visit the Solucient Web site at http://www.solucient.com.

It is downright dangerous to even go to the hospital. One good development in recent years has been reducing the length of hospital stays (which was originally an economy move), which also reduces the time of extended exposure to the various pathogens. But the full and part time hospital employees are at far more grave risk than they have been in years past.

With all the negatives of providing medical services, it is surprising that any institutions still are willing be active in promoting health care. There is probably a lot more to the "malpractice" crisis in this country than simply the insurance aspect.

One of my babies contracted a pneumococcus infection in the hospital when she was born. We were in for 3 days after the birth, then we came home and not even 48 hours later we were back for a 10 day course of antibiotics. Thankfully, it was not a resistant strain, but she was very ill.

If you've ever seen a 5 day old infant with an IV stuck in their little head inside an oxygen tent, you know how heart-wrenching it is.

ANY PHYSICIANS OUT THERE???

This is insane! You guys need to begin lobbying congress BIG TIME regarding the consumer availability of "anti-bacterial" everything. It's possible to buy liquid hand soap without antibiotics, but not without a tedious search of the shelves.

When I clean the cat's litter pan, I no doubt have nasty microbes on my hands. Guess what, folks, diluted bleach works JUST FINE! Bleach kills everything. Concerned about your clothes? So does vinegar, diluted with water 1:1.

The only people that should be using "anti-bacterial hand soap" are surgeons and their assistants. A few "experts" have issued warnings, but the market pays no heed, due to emotion based consumer demand. It's alarming to me that my yet unborn grandchildren may one day cut a foot on broken glass and die, all because we HAD TO HAVE Atibacterial Windex.

Okay, rant over (sorry).

You guys need to begin lobbying congress...

I think what the physicians NEED to do is start educating their patients. Too often, a patient with the sniffles goes in to see a doctor, doctor prescribes some OTC relief. Patient isn't satisfied with that, pressures doc into prescribing "something stronger."

Not only do doctors need to educate their patients on when they need or don't need anti-biotics, they need to emphasize that the entire prescription must be taken exactly as given. Too often, the patient is on a 7 or 10-day course of therapy, starts to feel better after 4-5 days, then stops taking the drug. This has an effect of only "stunning" the bacteria in some cases, and not actually killing it. The adage of "what doesn't kill it makes it stronger," applies here. As these strains of bacteria are exposed to anti-biotics they become more resistant, and what was first a rather benign bug, now becomes a "super-bug."

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