NHS Quality Improvement Scotland (NHS QIS) has issued advice to NHSScotland on screening for meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) to prevent infection with MRSA.
This booklet has been produced to explain our advice on MRSA screening to people who do not have specialist knowledge in this area. It explains what MRSA is, how screening can help to prevent and reduce
MRSA infections, how we formed our advice and the evidence we considered.
About screening for MRSA
Screening is one of a range of measures that can be put in place in hospitals to control the spread of infections, such as MRSA. Screening involves taking samples from certain sites on the body such as the inside of the nose or throat. These samples are analysed to identify patients who are carrying MRSA as this can increase their risk of developing an infection and spread MRSA to other patients.
Understanding our advice
Understanding advice HTA 9, screening for MRSA (PDF, 148K, 21secs)
Our advice
We have advised that a study is set up in a number of hospitals to assess whether screening for MRSA in all patients who are admitted to hospitals is effective in preventing MRSA infections.
