Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-30T21:44:01.221Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Perception vs Reality: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Carriage Among Healthcare Workers at a Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2015

Nora E. Colburn ,
Jennifer Cadnum ,
Elizabeth Flannery ,
Shelley Chang ,
Curtis J. Donskey  and
Usha Stiefel
Nora E. Colburn
Affiliation:
Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, University Hospitals of Cleveland, Cleveland, Ohio
Jennifer Cadnum
Affiliation:
Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Elizabeth Flannery
Affiliation:
Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio
Shelley Chang
Affiliation:
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio.
Curtis J. Donskey
Affiliation:
Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio.
Usha Stiefel*
Affiliation:
Research Service, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, Ohio.
*
Address correspondence to Usha Stiefel, MD, Louis Stokes Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Infectious Diseases Section, 10701 East Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44106 ([email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In a prevalence study of 209 healthcare workers, 18 (8.6%) and 13 (6.2%) carried methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in their nares or on their hands, respectively. However, 100 (62%) of 162 workers completing an associated survey believed themselves to be colonized, revealing a knowledge deficit about methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus epidemiology.

Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol. 2015;37(1):110–112

Type
Concise Communications
Information
Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , January 2016 , pp. 110 - 112
Copyright
© 2015 by The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America. All rights reserved 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Presented in part: Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 19th Annual Meeting; San Diego, California; March 19–22, 2009.

References

REFERENCES

1. Johnston, CP, Stokes, AK, Ross, T, et al. Staphylococcus aureus colonization among healthcare workers at a tertiary care hospital. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2007;28:1404–1407.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2. Opal, SM, Mayer, KH, Stenberg, MJ, et al. Frequent acquisition of multiple strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by healthcare workers in an endemic hospital environment. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 1990;11:479–485.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3. Suffoletto, BP, Cannon, EH, Ilkhanipour, K, Yealy, DM. Prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization in emergency department personnel. Ann Emerg Med 2008;52:534–536.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4. Eveillard, M, Martin, Y, Hidri, N, Boussougant, Y, Joly-Guillou, ML. Carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among hospital employees: prevalence, duration, and transmission to households. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2004;25:114–120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5. Mulqueen, J, Cafferty, F, Cormican, M, Keane, JD, Rossney, A. Nasal carriage of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in GPs in the West of Ireland. Br J Gen Pract 2007;57:811–813.Google ScholarPubMed
6. Reboli, AC, John, JF Jr, Platt, CG, Cantey, JR. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus outbreak at a Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center: importance of carriage of the organism by hospital personnel. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2004;11:291–296.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7. Gries, DM, Zemzars, TF, Gibson, KA, et al. A pilot study to assess frequency of carriage and routes of acquisition of Staphylococcus aureus by healthy infants. Am J Infect Control 2009;37:598–600.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8. Duggan, JM, Hensley, S, Khuder, S, Papadimos, TJ, Jacobs, L. Inverse correlation between level of professional education and rate of handwashing compliance in a teaching hospital. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2008;29:534–538.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed