MRSA Among Top Ten Reasons for Children's Hospitalizations
The NY Times reports in More Children Hospitalized with Skin Infections on the continued rising incidence of MRSA.
In fact, this rise in MRSA has altered the list of the most common reasons that children are administered to the hospital, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Severe skin infections are now the seventh most common reason for childhood hospitalization, up from 13th in 2010. Indeed hospital admissions for severe skin infections like MRSA have more than doubled between 2000 and 2009.
"In 2009, the rate of skin infections among children that required hospitalization climbed to 9.4 cases per 10,000 children, up from about 4.5 cases per 10,000 in the year 2000. Over all, about 71,900 children spent time in the hospital in 2009 because of severe skin infections," describes the Times article.
While most cases of MRSA occur in hospitals or nursing homes, 10 to 15 percent of cases occur among the community, particularly those who are prone to cuts and scrapes, such as athletes and children in general. As Dr. Patrick S. Romano, professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, puts it, "People think of MRSA as a hospital bug, but it’s not just a hospital bug anymore. It’s a community bug."
So how can you tell if your child (or you) has MRSA? Dr. Romano advises, "If your child develops a painful boil, especially on the buttocks, don’t wait for it to go away by itself or try to drain it at home. Go see your child’s doctor."
The article also further elucidates: "Infections caused by MRSA often resemble a pimple, boil or spider bite but quickly worsen into an abscess or pus-filled blister or sore. Patients who have sores that won’t heal or are filled with pus should see a doctor and ask to be tested for staph infection."
For more on MRSA and how you can help protect against it, see:
MRSA: The Super Staph Infection
In fact, this rise in MRSA has altered the list of the most common reasons that children are administered to the hospital, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Severe skin infections are now the seventh most common reason for childhood hospitalization, up from 13th in 2010. Indeed hospital admissions for severe skin infections like MRSA have more than doubled between 2000 and 2009.
"In 2009, the rate of skin infections among children that required hospitalization climbed to 9.4 cases per 10,000 children, up from about 4.5 cases per 10,000 in the year 2000. Over all, about 71,900 children spent time in the hospital in 2009 because of severe skin infections," describes the Times article.
While most cases of MRSA occur in hospitals or nursing homes, 10 to 15 percent of cases occur among the community, particularly those who are prone to cuts and scrapes, such as athletes and children in general. As Dr. Patrick S. Romano, professor of medicine and pediatrics at the University of California, Davis, School of Medicine, puts it, "People think of MRSA as a hospital bug, but it’s not just a hospital bug anymore. It’s a community bug."
So how can you tell if your child (or you) has MRSA? Dr. Romano advises, "If your child develops a painful boil, especially on the buttocks, don’t wait for it to go away by itself or try to drain it at home. Go see your child’s doctor."
The article also further elucidates: "Infections caused by MRSA often resemble a pimple, boil or spider bite but quickly worsen into an abscess or pus-filled blister or sore. Patients who have sores that won’t heal or are filled with pus should see a doctor and ask to be tested for staph infection."
For more on MRSA and how you can help protect against it, see:
MRSA: The Super Staph Infection
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