| Sub-title | |
| Authors | M T Camilleri Podesta M Zarb Adami P Cuschieri M T Camilleri Podesta A Serracino Inglott L Azzopardi |
| Abstract | Nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus has become a means of persistence and spread of multiresistant staphylococci, especially Methicillin-resistant Staph. aureus (MRSA). MRSA has become a public health threat, both in hospitals and more recently in the community. Aim: This study should indicate whether antibiotic medication and hospital stay predispose to nasal colonisation with Staph. aureus including MRSA when compared to a second cohort that had not been admitted to hospital recently. Method: Nasal swabs were obtained from cadavers prior to undergoing post-mortem examinations. The nasal swabs were taken to the Bacteriology Lab where attempts were made to culture Staph. aureus from the nasal swabs. Staphylococci were tested for their antibiotic susceptibility. The organisms that were resistant to oxacillin were tested using a Penicillin Binding Protein (PBP2a) Latex Agglutination test, which is a confirmatory test for MRSA. Results: From the 43 specimens taken, 34 of these had not been hospitalised before death. The remaining 9 died in hospital. 44% of the patients not hospitalised were colonised with Staph. aureus. 3 out of the 15 patients colonised with Staph. aureus, were MRSA positive (i.e. 9% of the non-hospitalised population). This cohort is compared to hospitalised patients, where 33% were colonised with Staph. aureus; of these, 2 out of 3 patients were MRSA positive (i.e. 22% of the hospitalised patients were colonised with MRSA). Conclusion: These preliminary findings provide confirmatory evidence that hospitalisation increases the incidence of MRSA carriage compared to the non-hospitalised population. |
Published in: | |
| Journal | Malta Medical Journal |
| Volume | 18 Supplement |
| Page | |
| Date | 01/12/2006 |
| Link to journal | |
| Key words | autopsy, MRSA, nasal carriage |