An audit of antibiotics usage and their effect on MRSA infection or colonisation following percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy in a district general hospital.

Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) has become a widely practised procedure to maintain long-term nutrition in patients with a variety of medical conditions. Incidence of infection and the usage of prophylactic antibiotic continue to remain an area of debate. Guidelines in gastroenterology on antibiotic prophylaxis published by the British Society of Gastroenterology recommend the use of prophylactic antibiotic prior to placement of PEG tube (1). There has been an alarming rise in the incidence of MRSA, which has jumped from a reported 2% in 1992 to about 42% in 2001 in England & Wales. Use of antibiotic may lead to emergence of MRSA in debilitated patients requiring PEG feeding. This audit addresses some of the problems encountered in a small district general hospital.