Is your nursery full of MDROs?

Multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) or multiresistant organisms are a significant and growing concern to all of us. Late-onset methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in the NICU are reported to have increased by 308 percent from 1995 to 2004.1 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee considers the prevention and control of MDROs a national priority, one that requires administrative and scientific leadership. This campaign will take commitment of financial resources, as well as of human resources devoted to practice improvement, expert consultation, laboratory support, monitoring of adherence to the practices that help with the problem, and data analysis.2 Unfortunately, this trend holds in developing countries as well. MDROs are a clinical challenge the world over.