Korean J Nosocomial Infect Control.
2007 Jun;12(1):42-49.
Rate of Nasal Colonization of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus at Admission to a Medical Intensive Care Unit
- Affiliations
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- 1Infection Control Office, Samsung Medical Center, Korea. micro.lee@samsung.com
- 2Department of Laboratory Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- 3Department of Clinical Laboratory, Samsung Medical Center, Korea.
- 4Department of Nursing, Samsung Medical Center, Korea.
- 5Department of Clinical Nursing, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- 6Department of Internal Medicine, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
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BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to survey the nasal colonization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among the patients admitted in a medical intensive care unit (MICU) and analyze risk factors associated with the colonization.
METHODS
The study was carried out on patients admitted into the MICU in a 1,250-bed tertiary care university hospital from January through December 2006. Nasal surveillance cultures were obtained from patients within 24 hours of admission to the unit. Data were analyzed retrospectively by the review of medical records.
RESULTS
A total of 312 patients were screened with active nasal cultures; 36 patients (11.6%) were positive for MRSA. Of these, 22 (7.1%) were positive in the nasal cultures only and 14 (4.5%) were positive in the cultures of other specimens (13, sputum; 1, joint fluid) in addition to the nasal swabs. Among the risk factors for MRSA nasal colonization were sex (man), route of admission (from other ICUs or wards), a history of ICU admission during the recent 12 months, and prolonged hospital days in ICU.
CONCLUSION
MRSA nasal carrier rate was found higher in this study than in those reported in the literature. Most of the patients colonized with MRSA in the nostril were not colonized with the organism elsewhere in the body. Whether or not active surveillance for MRSA should be performed would depend on the nasal colonization rate of the patients at the time of admission to the ICU.
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