May 27, 2010
Patients who have a hospital infection have a lower probability of survival (Osmon, Warren et al. 2003), as shown in Figure 1.7. This survival disadvantage is worse if the infection is due to a drug-resistant pathogen. Studies have shown that patients infected with resistant strains of bacteria are more likely to require longer hospitalization (Holmberg, Solomon et al. 1987; The Genesis Report 1994) and are more likely to die. For instance, the mortality rate for patients infected with MRSA has been found to be significantly higher than for patients infected with a methicillin-sensitive strain (Rubin, Harrington et al. 1999; Blot et al. 2002; Cosgrove et al. 2005).
