Risk Factors for Developing Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Colonization in Spine and Arthroplasty Surgery.

Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization is a risk factor for surgical site infection. We conducted a retrospective case-control study of 1,708 consecutively enrolled patients to identify criteria that places orthopaedic surgery patients undergoing spine and total joint arthroplasty surgery at risk for nasal colonization by MRSA and MSSA. Multivariate analysis showed obesity and asthma as significant risk factors for MRSA colonization. The identification of these two risk factors for MRSA colonization may help decolonization programs target patients with these factors for treatment prior to surgery, which could potentially lead to reductions in the rates of surgical site infections.