Public Health Surveillance for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Comparison of Methods for Classifying Health Care– and Community-Associated Infections

Bibliographic Data

ID11021986
AuthorsDawn M Sievert (At the time of the study, Dawn M. Sievert, Mark L. Wilson, Brenda W. Gillespie, and Matthew L. Boulton were with the School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dawn M. Sievert and Melinda J. Wilkins were with the Michigan Department of Community Health, Lansing.), Dawn Sievert (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services), Mark L Wilson (0000-0003-2968-5181, At the time of the study, Dawn M. Sievert, Mark L. Wilson, Brenda W. Gillespie, and Matthew L. Boulton were with the School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dawn M. Sievert and Melinda J. Wilkins were with the Michigan Department of Community Health, Lansing.), Melinda J Wilkins (0000-0002-4701-734X, At the time of the study, Dawn M. Sievert, Mark L. Wilson, Brenda W. Gillespie, and Matthew L. Boulton were with the School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dawn M. Sievert and Melinda J. Wilkins were with the Michigan Department of Community Health, Lansing.), Brenda W Gillespie (0000-0003-4488-0612, At the time of the study, Dawn M. Sievert, Mark L. Wilson, Brenda W. Gillespie, and Matthew L. Boulton were with the School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dawn M. Sievert and Melinda J. Wilkins were with the Michigan Department of Community Health, Lansing.), Matthew L Boulton (0000-0002-0565-9010, At the time of the study, Dawn M. Sievert, Mark L. Wilson, Brenda W. Gillespie, and Matthew L. Boulton were with the School of Public Health, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dawn M. Sievert and Melinda J. Wilkins were with the Michigan Department of Community Health, Lansing.)
Year2010
Volume100
Issue9
Pages1777-1783
Publication date2010-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2009.181958
PMID20634456
PMCIDPMC2920987
OpenAlexW1992370513
LanguageEN
References cited37

Objectives. We compared 3 methods for classifying methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections as health care associated or community associated for use in public health surveillance. Methods. We analyzed data on MRSA infections reported to the Michigan Department of Community Health from October 1, 2004, to December 31, 2005. Patient demographics, risk factors, infection information, and susceptibility were collected for 2151 cases. We classified each case by the health care risk factor, infection-type, and susceptibility pattern methods and compared the results of the 3 methods. Results. Demographic, clinical, and microbiological variables yielded similar health care–associated and community-associated distributions when classified by risk factor and infection type. When 2 methods yielded the same classifications, the overall distribution was similar to classification by 3 methods. No specific combination of 2 methods was superior. Conclusions. MRSA categorization by 2 methods is more accurate than it is by a single method. The health care risk factor and infection-type methods yield comparable classification results. Accuracy is increased by using more variables; however, further research is needed to identify the optimal combination

Categorization · Demographics · Environmental health · Family medicine · Health care · Pathology · Public health · Risk factor · Staphylococcus aureus · Antimicrobial Resistance in Staphylococcus · Data-Driven Disease Surveillance · Demography · Infection Control in Healthcare · Internal Medicine · Medicine