Crude nosocomial MRSA incidence rates and incidence rate ratios by study arm for each study period*
| Outcome | Baseline phase | Intervention phase | Washout phase | Crude IRR (95% CI) for intervention vs baseline phases | Crude IRR (95% CI) for washout vs intervention phases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MRSA isolation rate from clinical cultures (number per 100 susceptible patients) | |||||
| Enhanced hand hygiene | 0.99 (181/183.47) | 0.80 (279/349.50) | 0.65 (106/163.83) | 0.81 (0.67 to 0.98) | 0.81 (0.65 to 1.01) |
| Screening and decolonisation | 0.47 (31/66.61) | 0.23 (28/122.56) | 0.26 (17/66.04) | 0.49 (0.29 to 0.82) | 1.13 (0.62 to 2.06) |
| Combined | 0.55 (47/85.35) | 0.36 (60/165.23) | 0.13 (8/63.04) | 0.66 (0.45 to 0.97) | 0.35 (0.17 to 0.73) |
| MRSA infection rate (number per 100 admissions) | |||||
| Enhanced hand hygiene | 0.58 (106/183.79) | 0.50 (175/349.96) | 0.45 (74/164.13) | 0.87 (0.68 to 1.10) | 0.90 (0.69 to 1.18) |
| Screening and decolonisation | 0.24 (16/66.92) | 0.19 (23/122.79) | 0.17 (11/66.15) | 0.78 (0.41 to 1.48) | 0.89 (0.43 to 1.82) |
| Combined | 0.29 (25/85.37) | 0.19 (32/165.35) | 0.13 (8/63.04) | 0.66 (0.39 to 1.12) | 0.66 (0.30 to 1.42) |
| MRSA surgical site infection rate (number per 100 surgical procedures) | |||||
| Enhanced hand hygiene | 0.60 (79/132.27) | 0.49 (123/250.03) | 0.42 (54/127.06) | 0.82 (0.62 to 1.09) | 0.86 (0.63 to 1.19) |
| Screening and decolonisation | 0.26 (14/54.00) | 0.15 (15/99.63) | 0.16 (8/50.74) | 0.58 (0.28 to 1.20) | 1.05 (0.44 to 2.47) |
| Combined | 0.20 (18/91.41) | 0.14 (21/147.81) | 0.07 (3/43.43) | 0.72 (0.38 to 1.35) | 0.49 (0.15 to 1.63) |
| MRSA bloodstream infection rate (number per 10 000 patient-days) | |||||
| Enhanced hand hygiene | 0.93 (14/15.0757) | 0.56 (16/28.6667) | 0.44 (6/13.5745) | 0.60 (0.29 to 1.23) | 0.79 (0.31 to 2.02) |
| Screening and decolonisation | 0.17 (1/5.7754) | 0.18 (2/11.2971) | 0.17 (1/5.8473) | 1.02 (0.09 to 11.28) | 0.97 (0.09 to 10.65) |
| Combined | 0.18 (1/5.5524) | 0.00 (0/9.7337) | 0.00 (0/5.4901) | – | – |
*MRSA was defined as nosocomial if it was isolated from specimens collected more than 48 h after admission or within 30 days (or 12 months for infections of prosthetic devices) after discharge from the surgical ward.
IRR, incidence rate ratio; MRSA, meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.