Staphylococcal nasal carriage of health care workers.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of staphylococcal nasal carriage of health care workers (HCWs) and antimicrobial susceptibility profile of the isolates for appropriate decolonization therapy. STUDY
DESIGN: An observational study. PLACE AND DURATION OF STUDY: The study was conducted at Holy Family Hospital, Rawalpindi, during the period from May 2007 to April 2008.
METHODOLOGY: Nasal swabs from anterior nares of HCWs were cultured and identified as Staphylococcus aureus, coagulasenegative staphylococci (CoNS), methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), methicillin-resistant CoNS (MRCoNS) by using standard methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed on Muller Hinton Agar using disc diffusion method.
RESULTS: Of the 468 HCWs, 213 (45.5%) participants were men and 255 (54.5%) were women. Eighty five (18.2%) were nasal carriers of S. aureus, 07 (1.5%) for MRSA, 343 (73.3%) for CoNS and 10 (2.1%) for MRCoNS. The highest carriage rate for S. aureus was in midwives (30%) followed by maintenance staff (28.6%), security guards (25%), technicians (23.5%), staff nurses (22.7%) and < 20% in house physicians and nursing students. Carriage rate in HCWs from different departments was: surgical ICU (40%), gynaecology (34.9%), delivery room (30%), gynaecology operation rooms (25%), medicine (22.7%) and < 20% in pediatrics and surgery. All isolates were susceptible to vancomycin, imipenem and levofloxacin and > 90% of S. aureus and CoNS were susceptible to amikacin, gentamicin and fluoroquinolones tested.
CONCLUSION: Fluoroquinolones, preferably oral levofloxacin in combination with topical gentamicin ointment, in places like Pakistan where mupirocin is not routinely available, can be used for decolonization of nasal staphylococcal carriage.