Abstract
Purpose: :
To determine the prevalence and risk factors for nasal colonization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and its antibiotic susceptibilities among Hispanic patients in a general ophthalmology clinic in Puerto Rico.
Methods: :
Two hundred randomly selected patients in a general ophthalmology clinic were included in this study. Ages ranged from 20 to 96 with a mean age of 68 years. Nasal swabs of the patients were cultured in a chromogenic media and antimicrobial identification and susceptibility performed. Associated risk factors evaluated included age, sex, diabetes, hypertension, hemodyalisis, hospitalizations and antibiotic use.
Results: :
Twenty-eight of the 200 patients evaluated were colonized with MRSA (14%). The number of colonies resistant to different antibiotics were as follows: tobramycin-8/28 (28.6%), moxifloxacillin- 6/28 (21.4%), vancomycin- 2/28 (7.1%), besifloxacillin- 0/28 (0%). The two patients that had MRSA resistant to vancomycin had been hospitalized during the past year. The only factor independently associated with increased risk of MRSA colonization was antibiotic use during the past year.
Conclusions: :
The prevalence of nasal MRSA colonization in this population was 14%. The only risk factor associated with MRSA colonization was recent antibiotic utilization. Resistance to vancomycin was associated with prolonged hospitalization. MRSA colonization among ophthalmology clinic patients could present a potential problem when intraocular surgery is performed
Keywords: clinical (human) or epidemiologic studies: prevalence/incidence • bacterial disease • Staphylococcus