Screening all hospital admissions for MRSA unlikely to be cost-effective

LONDON — A national mandatory policy of screening all elective and emergency hospital admissions for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus did not appear cost-effective. Further research examining sensitivity to model parameters, setting and long-term effects is currently under way, according to Julie Robotham, PhD.

“Targeted screening of high-risk specialties appears at this preliminary stage more likely to be cost-effective, reflecting the higher proportion of infections seen,” Robotham, of the Health Protection Agency in London, told Infectious Disease News.

Robotham and colleagues collected data from a national 1-week audit of MRSA admission screening in 144 National Health System hospitals. They used this data to develop an MRSA transmission model to evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of 10 different screening and intervention strategies.

The health benefits of all strategies were similar. When compared with no screening, intensive screening strategies reduced MRSA infection rates by up to 20%, but there was a less than 5% reduction in mortality.

When looking at cost, the researchers found that screening of admissions to high-risk specialties had cost per quality-adjusted life years value beneath the usual National Health Service willingness-to-pay threshold.

Disclosure: Dr. Robotham reports no relevant financial disclosures. 

• Robotham J. #LB2808. Presented at: 22nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases; March 31-April 3, 2012; London.