Infectious disease experts at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine launched a Web site today exclusively designed to help clinicians treating patients with pathogens associated with multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). Leading experts in the field have taken joint action against the rising prevalence of MDROs and as their first step, the team has launched a new Web site, MDROSolutions.com. This Web site will serve as a joint, easily accessible resource and will specifically address the increasing prevalence and incidence of MDROs in hospitals and community practice settings.

“There are increasing problems with antibiotic resistance both in community-acquired infections and in nosocomial infections. These are becoming increasingly difficult to manage,” said John Bartlett, MD, a Professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, who steered the site development. “There is also a newly recognized form of community-acquired resistant bacteria in patients who have recent contact with the healthcare system and have acquired infections involving pathogens that are traditionally found primarily in the hospital setting. The purpose of our program is to provide guidance in the recognition and management of these infections,” he said.

MDROSolutions.com provides clinicians information on these guidelines, appropriate treatments, and application in everyday practice.

New anticipated guidelines from the Infectious Diseases Society of America and the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America, with an anticipated release of summer 2009, address clinical pathways for appropriate and successful treatment of MDROs, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), surgical site infections, and Clostridium difficile. Our goal is to offer clinicians guidance for treating patients with pathogens associated with MDRO with the most effective, up-to-date information possible, and to provide attention to the recognition and management to community-acquired pathogens that are resistant to what are commonly considered standard antibiotics.

Using the new Web site, physicians can:

Recognize the prevalence and incidence of the epidemic of community-acquired and healthcare-associated MDROs.

Differentiate the clinical presentation and sensitivity patterns of community-acquired versus healthcare-associated resistant infections.

Compare and contrast infection control practices used to reduce the incidence of MDROs by healthcare providers in both the community and hospital settings.

Develop detailed diagnosis and treatment plans for patients undergoing guidance for MDROs.

MDROSolutions.com content is developed and vetted by a steering committee of infectious disease experts: John Bartlett, MD (Johns Hopkins); Marin Kollef, MD (Washington University, St. Louis); George Karam, MD (Louisiana State University); Lena Napolitano, MD, FACS, FCCP, FCCM (University of Michigan); Peter Linden, MD (University of Pittsburgh); and Rob Owens, PharmD (Maine Medical Center). Each member of the steering committee has a specific area of responsibility, including challenges of increasing antibiotic resistance, risk factors for infection, consequences of bacterial evolution, and optimal empiric antimicrobial choices for patients with risk factors for infection due to MDROs.

MDROSolutions.com is particularly timely because healthcare settings are facing new scrutiny and regulatory hurdles by both government and public agencies. For example, The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has recently implemented a policy to ensure optimal patient outcomes to hospitals for certain conditions such as VAP and healthcare-associated MRSA, given the rationale that these “never events” should not happen if appropriate identification and treatment takes place. Confronted with these challenges, providers require new knowledge and instruction on the application of guidelines to improve the quality of care specific to MDROs.

MDROSolutions.com is committed to offering providers the most up-to-date guidance for treating patients with risk factors for MDRO infections, including recognizing the prevalence and incidence of the epidemic of community-acquired and healthcare-associated MDROs; comparing and contrasting infection control practices used to reduce the incidence of MDROs; and developing detailed diagnosis and treatment plans for patients with MDROs. As an added benefit to providers who visit the Web site and participate in the educational modules.

The availability of MDROSolutions.com is made possible by an educational grant provided to The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine by Pfizer Inc.

The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine takes responsibility for the content, quality, and scientific integrity of this CME activity.

About The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
In July 2008, U.S. News & World Report ranked The Johns Hopkins Hospital #1 among American hospitals for the 18th consecutive year. In 2006, The Johns Hopkins Office of CME received “Accreditation with Commendation” for 6 years, the highest ranking issued by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME). Hopkins CME has been recognized as a center for “Best Practices” and as a resource to ACCME-accredited providers. For more information, please visit http://www.hopkinscme.edu or contact Victor Marrow, PhD, Executive Director, CME’s Office of Funded Programs at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .