Published in:
Open Access 01-12-2007 | Research article
Staphylococcus aureus intestinal colonization is associated with increased frequency of S. aureuson skin of hospitalized patients
Published in: BMC Infectious Diseases | Issue 1/2007
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Background
Intestinal colonization by Staphylococcus aureus among hospitalized patients has been associated with increased risk of staphylococcal infection and could potentially contribute to transmission. We hypothesized that S. aureus intestinal colonization is associated with increased frequency of S. aureus on patients' skin and nearby environmental surfaces.
Methods
Selected inpatients were cultured weekly for S. aureus from stool, nares, skin (groin and axilla), and environmental surfaces (bed rail and bedside table). Investigator's hands were cultured after contacting the patients' skin and the environmental surfaces.
Results
Of 71 subjects, 32 (45.1%) had negative nares and stool cultures, 23 (32.4%) had positive nares and stool cultures, 13 (18.3%) were nares carriers only, and 3 (4.2%) were stool carriers only. Of the 39 patients with S. aureus carriage, 30 (76.9%) had methicillin-resistant isolates. In comparison to nares colonization only, nares and intestinal colonization was associated with increased frequency of positive skin cultures (41% versus 77%; p = 0.001) and trends toward increased environmental contamination (45% versus 62%; p = 0.188) and acquisition on investigator's hands (36% versus 60%; p = 0.057). Patients with negative nares and stool cultures had low frequency of S. aureus on skin and the environment (4.8% and 11.3%, respectively).
Conclusion
We found that hospitalized patients with S. aureus nares and/or stool carriage frequently had S. aureus on their skin and on nearby environmental surfaces. S. aureus intestinal colonization was associated with increased frequency of positive skin cultures, which could potentially facilitate staphylococcal infections and nosocomial transmission.