title: Sensitivity of surveillance cultures for the detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a nursing-home-care unit.
abstract: This study compared the sensitivity of nasal culture alone versus multiple-site cultures and single versus duplicate sampling for the detection of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-colonized individuals in a nursing-home population. Repeat culture of 68 specimens collected from 35 colonized subjects yielded identical results for 57 specimens, (84%), and 89% of the colonized residents (31 of 35) were identified by the first culture of multiple sites. A single nares culture detected 27 (77%) of 35 (first screen) and 29 (83%) of 35 (second screen) residents colonized with MRSA at any site. The most cost-effective screening would consist of a nasal culture only or combined with a gastrostomy tube site, if applicable. To identify all colonized individuals, however, it would be necessary to culture more than one specimen from multiple sites on each resident.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory Service, Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, OR 97201.
authors.forename: D L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Sewell
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Potter
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Jacobson
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Strausbaugh
authors.forename: T T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Ward
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D006801:Humans; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology; D009666:Nose / Q000382:microbiology; D009735:Nursing Homes; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000382:microbiology