In routine ICU practice, universal decolonization was more effective than targeted decolonization or screening and isolation in reducing rates of MRSA clinical isolates and bloodstream infection from any pathogen. (Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; REDUCE MRSA ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00980980).

The quality of care in the VA health care system substantially improved after the implementation of a systemwide reengineering and, during the period from 1997 through 2000, was significantly better than that in the Medicare fee-for-service program. These data suggest that the quality-improvement initiatives adopted by the VA in the mid-1990s were effective.

When compared with their urban and suburban counterparts, veterans who live in a rural setting have worse health-related quality-of-life scores. Policymakers, within and outside the Veterans Health Administration, should anticipate greater health care demands from rural populations.

IMPORTANCE Previous studies suggested that a bundled intervention was associated with lower rates of Staphylococcus aureus surgical site infections (SSIs) among patients having cardiac or orthopedic operations.OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether the implementation of an evidence-based bundle is associated with a lower risk of S aureus SSIs in patients undergoing cardiac operations or hip or knee arthroplasties. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Twenty hospitals in 9 US states participated in this pragmatic study; rates of SSIs were collected for a median of 39 months (range, 39-43) during the preintervention period (March 1, 2009, to intervention) and a median of 21 months (range, 14-22) during the intervention period (from intervention start through March 31, 2014).INTERVENTIONS Patients whose preoperative nares screens were positive for methicillin-resistant S aureus (MRSA) or methicillin-susceptible S aureus (MSSA) were asked to apply mupirocin intranasally twice daily for up to 5 days and to bathe daily with chlorhexidine-gluconate (CHG) for up to 5 days before their operations. MRSA carriers received vancomycin and cefazolin or cefuroxime for perioperative prophylaxis; all others received cefazolin or cefuroxime. Patients who were MRSA-negative and MSSA-negative bathed with CHG the night before and morning of their operations. Patients were treated as MRSA-positive if screening results were unknown. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe primary outcome was complex (deep incisional or organ space) S aureus SSIs. Monthly SSI counts were analyzed using Poisson regression analysis.RESULTS After a 3-month phase-in period, bundle adherence was 83% (39% full adherence; 44% partial adherence). Overall, 101 complex S aureus SSIs occurred after 28 218 operations during the preintervention period and 29 occurred after 14 316 operations during the intervention period (mean rate per 10 000 operations, 36 for preintervention period vs 21 for intervention period, difference, −15 [95% CI, −35 to −2]; rate ratio [RR], 0.58 [95% CI, 0.37 to 0.92]). The rates of complex S aureus SSIs decreased for hip or knee arthroplasties (difference per 10 000 operations, −17 [95% CI, −39 to 0]; RR, 0.48 [95% CI, 0.29 to 0.80]) and for cardiac operations (difference per 10 000 operations, −6 [95% CI, −48 to 8]; RR, 0.86 [95% CI, 0.47 to 1.57]). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEIn this multicenter study, a bundle comprising S aureus screening, decolonization, and targeted prophylaxis was associated with a modest, statistically significant decrease in complex S aureus SSIs.

In this sample of patients in active medical treatment, rates of preventive services were higher than rates reported for population-based, private-sector samples. Despite these high-baseline rates, persons with psychiatric disorders, particularly with comorbid substance use, were at risk for lower rate of receipt of preventive services.