Eliminating the spread of infection during patients' hospital stays is a major concern for the health care community, and a new review published in the American Journal of Roentgenology suggests radiologists can play a crucial role in meeting that goal.

One of the more serious and deadly infections occurring among patients in health care settings is methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus -- a type of staph bacteria that is resistant to certain antibiotics such as penicillin and amoxicillin. Most MRSA infections are skin infections and account for 49.9 to 63 percent of the staph infections transmitted to inpatients in the U.S., according to the review.

The team of Canadian reviewers said although the radiology department can be a major source of infection transmission due to high patient traffic, it is also ideally placed to change behaviors that spread MRSA.
"Awareness of MRSA infection control practices and concrete steps that can be taken in a radiology department are certainly the concern and the impetus for our review article," says author Edwin Zhang of the University of Alberta's department of radiology and diagnostic imaging in Edmonton. "Radiologists tend to be the leaders of the department and are in the best position to facilitate changes and dictate department protocol."

The review details precautions radiologists should carry out to prevent MRSA transmission, including hand hygiene, wearing protective equipment (gowns, gloves and masks), routine disinfection of imaging equipment and using plastic covers to protect portable imaging equipment from bodily fluids. Improper hand washing, in fact, was shown to be the main cause of MRSA transmission by health care workers, according to the review.

However, a survey of interventional radiologists -- mainly performing image-guided procedures -- showed that not all in the field follow these precautions. For instance, only 56 percent wore gowns and 50 percent wore caps. What's more, only 44 percent had undergone infection control training at the start of their practice.

"Health care workers are generally aware of infection control practices, but may be less knowledgeable about how to handle a patient who is MRSA positive," says Zhang. "It is a health care worker's job to educate themselves on the necessary precautions so that the infection rates do not continue."

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