A study conducted by an MSU physician pinpoints those at risk for a deadly bacterial infection.
Dele Davies, chairperson of MSU's Department of Pediatrics and Human Development, led the Calgary-based team which found the risk of death from Invasive Staphylococcus aureus, or ISA, is greater in dialysis, transplant and HIV-positive patients than the general population.
Staphylococcus aureus, often referred to as "staph," is a bacteria commonly found on the skin and in the noses of healthy people. The bacteria can occasionally cause minor infections including pimples and boils and can be treated without antibiotics.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, staph bacteria are one of the most common cases of skin infection in the United States.
Although the bacteria are almost harmless on the surface of the skin, problems arise when staph is able to enter the bloodstream, Davies said.
When this invasive infection happens, serious inflammations, pneumonia and death can result.
"What we were trying to do was very clearly define who is at most risk of getting the infection and dying from it," Davies said.
Davies' team found patients undergoing hemodialysis are about 250 times more likely to contract ISA than the general population.
Others at increased risk include patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis, those with HIV, organ transplant recipients and heart and cancer patients. The research also found elderly patients and those with hypotension, renal failure, diabetes mellitus and lung problems were more likely to die from ISA.
Prior studies have been limited by the way they were carried out said Kevin Laupland, part of the research team and an associate professor at the University of Calgary in Canada.
The study surveyed about one million patients in the Calgary Health Region and focused on more than 250 people with invasive Staphylococcus aureus infections.
The results were published in the April 15 online version of Journal of Infectious Diseases.
With advances in vaccine development and preventative treatments, the findings come at an important time, Laupland said.
"Our study identifies patients that would be the most likely to benefit from these interventions," he said.
