Elimination of coincident Staphylococcus aureus nasal and hand carriage with intranasal application of mupirocin calcium ointment

Article Abstract:

The bacterium Staphylococcus aureus is the most frequently found infective agent in surgical wounds, and the second most common cause of hospital-acquired pneumonia and blood-borne infections. The nostrils are the most common site of chronic carriage of staphylococci. A study was performed to evaluate the efficacy of mupirocin, a topical antibiotic with anti-staphylococcal activity. Sixty-eight health care workers with known staphylococcal carriage were randomly assigned to apply intranasal mupirocin or placebo twice a day for five days. Nasal cultures were obtained after completion of the trials, at 48 hours, and 1, 2, 4, and 12 weeks after the end of therapy. Seventy-one percent of the mupirocin group remained free of S. aureus at three months, versus only 18 percent of the controls. Side effects were mild and transient. Other topical agents investigated have either been ineffective or select for resistant organisms. Systemic agents produce side effects and produce resistance. Intranasal mupirocin appears to be an effective and well-tolerated agent in preventing Staphylococcus aureus infections. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Care and treatment, Evaluation, Dosage and administration, Mupirocin

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A cloud adult: the Staphylococcus aureus-virus interaction revisited

Article Abstract:

Upper respiratory tract viral infections (URI's) appear to increase the risk of transmitting Staphylococcus aureus that colonizes the nasal passages of many health care workers. Researchers studied an outbreak of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in 8 hospital patients over a 3-week period. Tests performed on all health care workers in contact with these patients identified one doctor who had interacted with all 8 of these patients and also tested positive for an MRSA infection. When the doctor was isolated, testing of air samples revealed little Staphylococcus aureus in the air. However, when the doctor was experimentally infected with a respiratory virus, daily one-hour air samples revealed that the doctor began to excrete the bacterium into the air just from breathing. Nearly 62% of the samples, including those farthest away from the doctor, contained the bacteria on the tenth day following infection when the doctor was not wearing a mask.

Physiological aspects, Respiratory tract infections

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Comparative efficacy of alternative hand-washing agents in reducing nosocomial infections in intensive care units

Article Abstract:

Hospital health care workers who wash their hands with the disinfectant chlorhexidine may be less likely to transmit a nosocomial infection to patients than those who wash their hands with a combination of soap and alcohol. Nosocomial infections are infections acquired in the hospital, and they are often transmitted on the hands of health care workers. A study examined the number of nosocomial infections among 1,894 adult patients in intensive care units (ICU) over an eight-month period. During the period when health care workers used chlorhexidine, 152 nosocomial infections occurred, compared with 202 when they used soap and alcohol. The largest decrease occurred in gastrointestinal infections during periods of chlorhexidine use. Health care workers washed their hands more often with chlorhexidine than with soap and alcohol, which may partially explain the decrease in infections.

Health aspects, Usage, Ethanol, Disinfection and disinfectants, Disinfectants, Disinfection, Hand washing, Handwashing, Soap, Soaps, Alcohol, Denatured

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