title: Predicting clearance of colonization with vancomycin-resistant Enterococci and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by use of weekly surveillance cultures.
abstract: We analyzed surveillance cultures for vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) collected during a multicenter trial to determine if three negative cultures collected at weekly intervals would predict clearance of VRE or MRSA from colonized patients. Seventy-two percent of VRE-colonized patients and 94% of MRSA-colonized patients were culture negative after three consecutive negative cultures.
authors.affiliation: Rho Federal Systems Division, Inc, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Charmaine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Huckabee
authors.forename: W Charles
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Huskins
authors.forename: Patrick R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Murray
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology*; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D020713:Vancomycin Resistance