title: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and vancomycin-resistant Enterococci co-colonization.
abstract: We assessed the prevalence, risk factors, and clinical outcomes of patients co-colonized with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) upon admission to the medical and surgical intensive care units (ICUs) of a tertiary-care facility between January 1, 2002, and December 31, 2003. Co-colonization was defined as a VRE-positive perirectal surveillance culture with an MRSA-positive anterior nares surveillance culture collected concurrently. Among 2,440 patients, 65 (2.7%) were co-colonized. Independent risk factors included age (odds ratio [OR] 1.03, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.05), admission to the medical ICU (OR 4.38, 95% CI 2.46-7.81), male sex (OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.14-3.30), and receiving antimicrobial drugs on a previous admission within 1 year (OR 3.06, 95% CI 1.85-5.07). None of the co-colonized patients would have been identified with clinical cultures alone. We report a high prevalence of VRE/MRSA co-colonization upon admission to ICUs at a tertiary-care hospital.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. jfuruno@epi.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Jon P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Furuno
authors.forename: Eli N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Perencevich
authors.forename: Judith A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Marc-Oliver
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.forename: Jessina C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: McGregor
authors.forename: J Glenn
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Sandra M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.forename: Mary-Claire
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Roghman
authors.forename: Lucia L
authors.initials: LL
authors.lastname: Nemoy
authors.forename: Harold C
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Standiford
authors.forename: Joan N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Hebden
authors.forename: Anthony D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Harris
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D008297:Male; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D020713:Vancomycin Resistance