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Subcutaneous Infection of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
12:18

Subcutaneous Infection of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)

Published on: February 9, 2011

Hospitalization of paediatric patients for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft-tissue

K D Sircar1, E Bancroft, D M Nguyen

  • 1Epidemic Intelligence Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA. ddq0@cdc.gov

Epidemiology and Infection
|November 19, 2009
PubMed

Insights

Hospital discharge reports can track pediatric methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs). A specific set of three ICD-9-CM codes accurately identifies MRSA SSTI hospitalizations, revealing a significant increase in cases.

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Public Health Surveillance
  • Medical Informatics

Background:

  • Hospital discharge reports are a data source for studying methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs).
  • Accurate identification of MRSA SSTI hospitalizations is crucial for understanding disease trends.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the sensitivity and positive predictive value of International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code combinations for MRSA SSTI hospitalization rates.
  • To assess the representativeness of a specific set of three ICD-9-CM codes for defining MRSA SSTI.
  • To analyze hospitalization incidence rate trends for pediatric MRSA SSTIs in Los Angeles County (LAC).

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of 133 laboratory-confirmed MRSA SSTI cases from 31 hospitals in Los Angeles County.
  • Evaluation of the positive predictive value of a specific combination of three ICD-9-CM codes.
  • Comparison of demographic data (age, race) between cases identified by three codes versus other code combinations.

Main Results:

  • The set of three ICD-9-CM codes demonstrated a high positive predictive value (49%) for identifying MRSA SSTI cases.
  • No significant differences in age or race were observed between patients identified using the three-code set and those identified by other combinations.
  • A substantial increase in pediatric MRSA SSTI hospitalizations was observed in LAC between 1998 and 2006.

Conclusions:

  • The evaluated combination of three ICD-9-CM codes is a reliable method for identifying MRSA SSTI hospitalizations in pediatric populations.
  • This coding strategy can be effectively utilized to monitor the incidence and trends of pediatric MRSA SSTIs.

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