Impact of results of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus surveillance culture of nasal specimens on subsequent antibiotic prescribing patterns

• Published in: Infection control and hospital epidemiology Vol. 31; no. 8; p. 842
• Main Authors: Ruhe, Jörg J, Kreiswirth, Barry, Perlman, David C, Mildvan, Donna, Koll, Brian
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.08.2010
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anti-Bacterial Agents - administration & dosage; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Carrier State - drug therapy; Carrier State - epidemiology; Carrier State - microbiology; Cohort Studies; Culture Media; Female; Humans; Male; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - classification; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - genetics; Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus - isolation & purification; Middle Aged; Multivariate Analysis; Nasal Cavity - microbiology; Population Surveillance - methods; Practice Patterns, Physicians; Predictive Value of Tests; Retrospective Studies; Specimen Handling; Staphylococcal Infections - drug therapy; Staphylococcal Infections - epidemiology; Staphylococcal Infections - microbiology; Vancomycin - administration & dosage; Vancomycin - therapeutic use; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1559-6834
• DOI: 10.1086/655021

We studied the potential impact of results of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) surveillance culture of nasal specimens on physicians' vancomycin-prescribing habits. We compared 116 case patients who had positive results with 116 matched control subjects who had negative results. On multivariate analyses, a positive MRSA carrier status remained strongly predictive of vancomycin use within the subsequent 12 weeks.