Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSEvidence gap in care home infection control
There is a worrying lack of research on the best ways to prevent MRSA in care home settings, warn researchers.
Despite studies repeatedly reporting that residents are at higher risk, reviewers from the Cochrane Institute found no high quality research focusing on infection control interventions in nursing homes.
‘Many different ways of preventing the spread of MRSA have been studied, particularly in hospitals,’ they said. ‘However, we found no studies that looked at ways of preventing the spread of MRSA in nursing homes for older people.’
Close living proximity, use of antibiotics, the presence of pressure sores and indwelling devices all made nursing home residents more vulnerable to infection, they warned.
The reviewers suggested the same principles of hand hygiene used in hospitals should be adhered to in nursing homes.
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