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UCI Health-led MRSA study earns Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement for 2013

April 10, 2014
UCI Health Dr. Susan Huang

A study on antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospitals led by UCI Health infectious disease expert Dr. Susan Huang earned a "Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Award" for 2013 from the Clinical Research Forum.

Huang, medical director of epidemiology and infection prevention for UCI Health, is an associate professor of medicine. Winning projects represent the outstanding examples of research projects that benefit the health and well being of the general public.

The study showed that using germ-killing soap and ointment in hospitals on all intensive-care unit patients can reduce bloodstream infections by up to 44 percent and significantly reduce the presence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Patients who have MRSA present on their bodies are at increased risk of developing a MRSA infection and can spread the germ to other patients.

In the study, which was designed to test three MRSA prevention strategies, researchers found that treating all ICU patients with germ-killing soap and ointment was more effective than strategies that relied on screening patients for MRSA first, then applying prevention strategies only to those who carry the germ. This approach was also effective for preventing infections caused by germs other than MRSA. Study results appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“Clinical research culminates years of basic and translational science to bring new treatments to patients, and I’m always excited to see the groundbreaking clinical research recognized every year by the Clinical Research Forum,” said National Institutes of Health Director Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD. “This is just the tip of the iceberg of the incredible work coming out in the field, much of it funded by the NIH.”

The winning researchers represent institutions from across the country, including UC Irvine, Cornell University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins University, Ohio State University, UCLA, the University of Florida and the University of Pennsylvania. Their projects also address a wide variety of scientific and medical issues, including treatments for lymphoma, homozygous familial hypercholesterolaemia, hepatitis C and kidney disease. Other winning projects focused on finding less invasive ways to gauge the success of kidney transplants, on locating optimal dosing strategies for anticoagulation control, on developing screening protocols for lung cancer, and on better understanding the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease in patients of different races.

The researchers accepted their awards and presented their research April 10 at a reception in Washington, D.C.

The Clinical Research Forum was formed in 1996 to discuss the unique and complex challenges to clinical research in academic health centers. Over the past decade, it has convened leaders in clinical research annually and has provided a forum for discussing common issues and interests in the full spectrum of translational research. For more: http://www.clinicalresearchforum.org.

Contact: Tom Vasich at 949-824-6455 or tmvasich@uci.edu.

UCI Health comprises the clinical, medical education and research enterprises of the University of California, Irvine. Patients can access UCI Health at physician offices throughout Orange County and at its main campus, UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, Calif., a 412-bed acute care hospital that provides tertiary and quaternary care, ambulatory and specialty medical clinics, and behavioral health and rehabilitation services. U.S. News & World Report has listed it among America’s Best Hospitals for 13 consecutive years. UC Irvine Medical Center features Orange County’s only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center, high-risk perinatal/neonatal program, Level I trauma center and Level II pediatric trauma center, and it’s the primary teaching hospital for the UC Irvine School of Medicine. UCI Health serves a region of more than 3 million people in Orange County, western Riverside County and southeast Los Angeles County. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

About the University of California, Irvine: Located in coastal Orange County, near a thriving employment hub in one of the nation’s safest cities, UC Irvine was founded in 1965. One of only 62 members of the Association of American Universities, it’s ranked first among U.S. universities under 50 years old by the London-based Times Higher Education. The campus has produced three Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UC Irvine has more than 28,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It’s Orange County’s second-largest employer, contributing $4.3 billion annually to the local economy.