Suzie Q,
I was taught at the
State Program for Infection Control and Epidemiology at UNC in NC that
if there were no symptoms it wasn't an infection rather it was a
colonization. Therefore I've never coded it as an infection
without it meeting the long term infection criteria requiring
symptoms. I've not had any problems wth the state survey team
doing that way either. I believe most infections are treated 10-14
days maybe longer in the event of MRSA/VRE. Prehaps the state
cited you at 7 days for that reason, thinking the infection may not have
resolved in that short a time period. Or prehaps it was
within the time frame the MDS identified for coding. I think I
would have discussed with them the resident who was 6 months
colonized.
In a message dated 1/19/2004 8:46:13 PM Eastern Standard Time,
[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
Hi all
have had a major controversy going on at
our facility. Here is the question say you have a patient come in with
MRSA in the nares with lab results but no s/s of infection. Do
you take it in I section, what if some one had +VRE in urine 6 months
ago asymptomatic and never had repeat labs, do you take it in i
section? What if you had some one with Hx of Hepatitis C on a consult
do you code it under viral hepatitis? And again a wound with
MRSA which never had repeat labs and is healed over?
The CRC in our
facilty will not claim if not active in past 7 days, state came in and
said it has to be on the MDS during our survey and were cited for
it. Coorporate states not to take it unless it affects the
current picture of patient. What I am looking for and yes we
read and reread the RAI manual, but need to know what to do in
these cases. Thanks in advance suzieq
Susann Irwin, RN
MDS
Coordinator
Garner, NC
