Nasal Staphylococcus aureus and postoperative infection.

Over a one-year period 19.5 per cent of 237 patients carried Staphylococcus aureus in their nares preoperatively. This rate was not influenced by the length of hospital stay. The patient nasal carrier state had no correlation with the incidence of postoperative infection. There was no outbreak of S. aureus infection during this period. It is well known that a long preoperative stay greatly increases the risk of infectious complications. This increase in infectious complications was not linked to nasal S. aureus colonization in this study. S. aureus was responsible for 19 per cent of postoperative infections in a 12-month period. S. aureus still occupies a significant place in nosocomial infection rates.