CA-MRSA Infections - Management by Primary Care Clinicians of Patients Suspected of Having Community-Acquired, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus Infections

This project was conducted from September 1, 2008, through March 2010 and is funded by a grant from Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). We are conducting electronic chart audits followed by more in-depth manual audits to increase our understanding of CA-MRSA diagnosis, treatments, and documentation. This will help us develop real-world sustainable strategies consistent with the CDC guidelines that busy primary care practices can adopt.  

Specific Aims and Objectives

1. Describe the baseline incidence and clinical practice for SSTIs in three large health systems, two private health systems, and a large integrated urban community health center.
2. Design two intervention strategies and associated outcome measures consistent with the CA-MRSA CDC guidelines.
3. Conduct a clinical trial evaluating the effect of the intervention strategies on the outcomes in primary care clinics within two health care systems.

Key Findings and Publications

Findings indicate that the intervention used in this study resulted in increased use of antibiotics, including antibiotics that typically cover MRSA strains, but did not demonstrate increased rates of recommended drainage procedures.

Advances in the Prevention and Control of Healthcare-Associated Infections. An Electronic Card Study of Treatment Strategies for Community-Acquired Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA). Brandt E, Fernald D, Parnes B, Pace WD, West DR. . June 2014.

A Toolkit to Improve the Treatment of CA-MRSA. Stewart EE, Fernald D, Staton EW, et al. Fam Pract Manag. 2012 Sept-Oct;19(5)21-24. (PDF 4 pages)

Improving the Management of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in Primary Care. A Report From the State Networks of Colorado Ambulatory practices and Partners (SNOCAP-USA) and the Distributed Ambulatory Research in Therapeutics Network (DARTNet). . Parnes B, Fernald D, Coombs L, et al. J Am Board Fam Med. 2011;24(5):534-542. (PDF 5 pages).