A new study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, examined the relationship between antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the use of gloves and gowns for all patient contact.  Specifically, the researchers assess whether wearing gloves and gowns for all patient contact in the ICU decreases acquisition of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) or vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) compared with usual care.  Overall, it did not have a significant impact in reducing the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.  However, looking at the impact on MRSA alone, the use of gloves and gowns for all patient contact significantly reduced infection.

An analysis of the study published in HealthDay pointed out that there exists a variety of research that shows that health care workers get bacteria on their hands and clothing by touching patients.  A common contact precaution for patients infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria is the use of gloves and gowns.  However, the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria goes undetected in many patients and so contact precautions are not used. It was not known if requiring health care workers to wear gloves and gowns when dealing with all patients, instead of just those known to be colonized, would reduce the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

MRSA is one type of healthcare acquired infection (HAI).  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HAIs are infections that patients acquire during the course of receiving healthcare treatment for other conditions.  These infections related to medical care can be devastating and even deadly.  In 2002, the estimated number of HAIs in U.S. hospitals, adjusted to include federal facilities, was approximately 1.7 million: 33,269 HAIs among newborns in high-risk nurseries; 19,059 among newborns in well-baby nurseries; 417,946 among adults and children in intensive care units (ICUs); and 1,266,851 among adults and children outside of ICUs.

However, others disagree with the estimate, arguing that it is an underestimate that does not capture the true magnitude of the problem.  One of the groups that disagrees is the Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths.  The Committee points to studies showing growing rates of infection for certain types of infections, specifically superbugs.  MRSA has received the most attention of the superbugs because of estimates showing that the prevalence of MRSA more than doubled in the U.S. between 2005 and 2007.  Health and Human Services has created a national action plan to coordinate research efforts and prevention tactics for reducing infections across all healthcare settings.