Carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on admission to European rehabilitation centres--a prospective study.

This study aimed to determine the prevalence of and risk factors for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) carriage among patients newly admitted to rehabilitation centres. It is a prospective study examining MRSA carriage on admission to seven rehabilitation wards in four countries. Risk factors for MRSA carriage were analysed using univariate and multivariate analyses. A total of 1204 patients were studied. Among them, 105 (8.7%) had a positive admission MRSA screening result. The MRSA carriers were more likely to be male, to have had a recent stay in another long-term-care facility or >2 weeks acute-care hospital stay, history of colonization with MRSA, reduced level of consciousness, peripheral vascular disease and pressure sores. In multivariable logistic regression male gender (odds ratio (OR) 2.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.4-3.6, p 0.001), history of MRSA positivity (OR 6.8, 95% CI 3.8-12.3, p <0.001), peripheral vascular disease (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.2-5, p 0.013), recent stay in another long-term-care facility (OR 2.1, 95% CI 1.3-3.5, p 0.004), or long (>2 weeks) acute-care hospital stay (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2-3, p 0.004), remained significant risk factors for MRSA carriage. MRSA carriage is common on admission to rehabilitation centres but less so, than previously described in long-term-care facilities. Male gender, history of MRSA positivity, previous hospitalization and peripheral vascular disease may predict MRSA carriage, and may serve as indicators for using pre-emptive infection control measures.