International journal of hygiene and environmental health
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Int J Hyg Environ Health · Mar 2009
Colonization of patients and contamination of the patients' environment by MRSA under conditions of single-room isolation.
Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are endemic in hospitals worldwide and present a major concern in hospital hygiene. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between patients' MRSA colonization of the body and the frequency of environmental contamination. Twenty-five MRSA-positive hospitalized surgical patients and their environment in isolation rooms were screened on four occasions over a 14-day period. ⋯ MRSA colonization of the groin area correlates most strongly with colonization of the body and environment. Seventy-five of 240 (31%) samples taken in rooms of patients with colonization of the groin were MRSA-positive, whereas only 27 of 760 (3.6%) samples taken in rooms of patients without colonization of the groin produced positive results (odds ratio 12.3; 95% confidence interval, 7.7-20). It is concluded that MRSA patients without colonization of the groin have a relatively low risk of environmental spread of MRSA and thus a reduced risk of transmission.