$10 Million to Prevent MRSA Infections

University of California Irvine has received a three-year, $10 million funding to study new ways of preventing staph infections in people who have MRSA bacteria when they get out of the hospital.

[ADMARK]The $10 million grant is part of Recovery Act investment in comparing the effectiveness of new methods to prevent staphylococcus infections.

The awarded study is led by Dr. Susan Huang – medical director of epidemiology & infection prevention at UC Irvine Medical Center and a UCI Health Policy Research Institute affiliate.

This research could provide the first post-discharge preventative treatments for the 1.8 million Americans who carry the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteria every year.

This bacteria is extremely contagious and it resists to any antibiotics that are commonly used in treating staphylococcus infections.

“While prior studies have focused on preventing transmission, our effort will fill the large and important gap of how to prevent infection in the growing number of people who already harbor MRSA,” said Huang.

“Identification of an effective strategy to reduce MRSA infection and hospitalization would be a major advancement in clinical care,” she added.

The majority of MRSA cases happen in people who've recently been in the hospital or another healthcare facility, and almost 25% of patients with MRSA will develop an infection within a year of discharge.

Project CLEAR – Changing Lives by Eradicating Antibiotic Resistance – is basically a randomized trial at hospitals in Orange County and southeast Los Angeles County that is testing the efficacy of antibacterial nasal ointments, mouth rinses and body washes on patients with MRSA upon hospital discharge.

"MRSA containment and eradication is a national priority because of its virulence and rapid expansion in healthcare settings," Huang said.

"This trial will provide a critically needed comprehensive evaluation of strategies to decrease MRSA infection risk across the continuum of inpatient and outpatient care."

Through its Health Policy Research Institute, UCI has become a nationwide leader in comparative effectiveness research, which explores the best possible treatment options for patients, based on criteria like age, gender, race and health history.

The federal Agency for Healthcare Research & Quality awarded Huang this grant as part of its CHOICE program, funded by American Recovery & Reinvestment Act of 2009.

CHOICE grants support large projects that carry out comparisons in order to make the best decision possible in priority areas of clinical care.