| Abstract | | Measures for control and prevention of infectious diseases are complex and demand permanent team work which are directly involved with great costs. However, deficiency at any level has multiple negative feedback on appearance of heavy, and not seldom mortal infections, among which infections caused by resistant S. aureus are especially dangerous. Therefore, one of the most important indicator of the work quality in the field of prevention of hospital infections is the number of MRSA patients per 100 admissions. In the year 1999 and 2000 the first, major MRSA epidemic broke out at Maribor Teaching Hospital with 187 registered patients. Aim of this work is entire and detail study of the epidemic and estimation of the effectiveness of undertaken prevention and control procedures. Retrospective and prospective following. up was used for all more important epidemiological, clinical and laboratory indicators, as well as the risk factors for acquiring, spreading, seriousness and outcome of MRSA infection. For all MRSA isolates antibiogram was carried out and 61 isolates were typed by PFGE (pulsed-field gel electrophoresis) method. Data processing was carried out on personal computer and descriptive method applied. Disease caused by MRSA was registered in 46 and colonization in 141 patients. There were 119 (63.6%) male and 68 (36.4%) female patients. Their average age was 59.5, 74.2% were more than 50 years old. Risk factors for acquiring MRSA infections, apart from old age, were also chronic diseases, previous hospitalization, treatment in the Surgical Intensive Care Unit and afterwards on the Neurosurgical and Neurological units of the Maribor Teaching Hospital. Most patients (60) were found on the Surgical Intensive Care Unit. Altogether 49 patients with MRSA died (19 or 41.3 % infected and 30 or 213% colonized). (Abstract truncated at 2000 characters)
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