AHRQ cites MRSA mortality figures
AHRQ cites MRSA mortality figures
According to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), one of every 20 of the roughly 368,600 patients treated in U.S. hospitals in 2005 for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) died. Most of those patients were elderly or low income.
The death rate for hospitalized MRSA patients was higher than the 4% death rate for hospitalized tuberculosis patients. AHRQ also reports that:
- About 332 Medicare patients per 100,000 were hospitalized for MRSA compared to 184 Medicaid patients and 29 patients with private insurance. The rate for uninsured patients was 43 admissions per 100,000 people.
- Men were more likely to be hospitalized for MRSA (107 admissions per 100,000) than women (92 admissions).
- People in the South were 27% more likely (113 admissions per 100,000) to be hospitalized for MRSA than those in the Northeast and Midwest (89 admissions per 100,000 population). People in the West fell in between (96 admissions per 100,000).
This information is based on data in Infections with Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) in U.S. Hospitals, 1993-2005, Statistical Brief No. 35 (www.hcup-us.ahrq.gov). The report uses statistics from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample, a database that represents inpatient stays in all short-term, non-federal hospitals. The data are drawn from hospitals that comprise 90% of all discharges in the United States and include all patients, regardless of insurance type, as well as the uninsured.
According to the latest News and Numbers from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), one of every 20 of the roughly 368,600 patients treated in U.S. hospitals in 2005 for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) died. Most of those patients were elderly or low income.Subscribe Now for Access
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