Swiss study - understanding why screening less effective there

Link: JAMA -- Universal Screening for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus by Hospitals--Reply, August 6, 2008, Harbarth and Pittet 300 (5): 504.

The letters by Dr Salgado and colleagues and Drs Jarvis and Muto raise methodological limitations that were discussed in our study. In contrast to the simultaneously published time-series analysis by Robicsek et al,1 our study focused on screening of patients in surgical wards and was performed in a setting with low MRSA infection rates, a preexisting screening and decolonization policy for known carriers, and compliance with hand hygiene recommendations markedly above usual standards,2 thus making it less likely to observe an added effect of general screening.