title: When should contact precautions be discontinued for patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus?
abstract: When to discontinue contact precautions for patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remains unresolved and policies vary between hospitals. We prospectively performed admission active surveillance cultures on patients known to have been MRSA positive for at least 1 year to determine the proportion who remained positive. The proportion of patients with MRSA who remained positive was 19.9%; however, this significantly decreased over time, particularly after 5 years.
authors: Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC. Electronic address: richeyle@musc.edu.
authors: Lauren E
authors: LE
authors: Richey
authors: Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors: Yumi
authors: Y
authors: Oh
authors: Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors: Djeunou M
authors: DM
authors: Tchamba
authors: Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors: Michelle
authors: M
authors: Engle
authors: Department of Infection Prevention and Control, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors: Linda S
authors: LS
authors: Formby
authors: Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors: Cassandra D
authors: CD
authors: Salgado
mesh_terms: D002353:Carrier State / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D013997:Time Factors
keywords: Infection control; Infection prevention; MRSA surveillance