title: To study the correlation between carrier status of nasal Staphylococcus aureus in patients on haemodialysis with hepatitis C, hepatitis B and their sociodemographic features.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study the correlation of nasal Staphylococcus aureus carrier status in patients on haemodialysis, infected by hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and their sociodemographic features.
  
  
  METHODS
  A survey, including patients' sociodemographic features, was applied to patients by physicians in face to face interviews. Medical records regarding their serologic data were recorded from haemodialysis centres. Nasal swab samples of 2 cm depth from both nostrils of patients were obtained for nasal culture. Samples were inoculated in 5% sheep blood agar and incubated in an incubator at a temperature of 37 degrees C for 24 hours. The results were studied by the same microbiologist.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 185 patients were enrolled in the study. According to culture results, 14.1% of patients (n = 26) had methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and 1.1% (n = 2) had methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Status of viral hepatitis was 3.8% (n = 8), 10.8% (n = 20) for HBV and HCV respectively. Forty per cent (n = 8) of patients with HBV (+) had MSSA carrier status. Statistically significant positive correlation between MSSA and HCV carrier was detected (r = 0.325, p = 0.001) but not between HBV carrier and MSSA (p = 0.255).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In the present study, significant positivity was detected between MSSA carrier status and HCV in patients on haemodialysis and who have lived together with < or = 2 family members at home. Particularly, statistically significant correlation between HCV(+) and MSSA carrier was observed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Aydogan
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Akbulut
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Gok
authors.forename: M I
authors.initials: MI
authors.lastname: Yilmaz
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Yuksel
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Sari
authors.forename: Y C
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Doganer
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Senses
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Baltaci
authors.forename: I H
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Kara
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Saglam
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Qidwai
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Waheed
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D008875:Middle Aged; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000382:microbiology*; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*