Medknow Publications on behalf of Indian Association of Medical Microbiology
Abstract
Human immunodeficiency virus-infected patients attending skin
outpatient department were studied for nasal carriage of
methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)and associated
factors affecting nasal colonization. Nasal swabs were used for
isolation of S. aureus. MRSA were detected by agar screen and agar
dilution methods. Careful examination for dermatoses was carried out.
Forty-six of the 60 (76.67%) outpatients with HIV infection were
colonized with S. aureus in the anterior nares. Significant number of
S. aureus carriers were in the 31-40 year age group. Methicillin
resistance was found in eight (17.39%) isolates. Of the 46 S. aureus
strains, 29 (63%) were resistant to erythromycin, 69.5% to
co-trimoxazole and 41.3% to ciprofloxacin. Co-trimoxazole use was found
to be a risk factor for S. aureus carriage ( P = 0.0214) but not for
methicillin resistance. Hospital stay for more than 10 days was a risk
factor for methicillin resistance whereas stay for more than 25 days
was found to be a highly significant risk factor. Dermatophytosis and
herpes simplex virus infection were other risk factors for nasal
carriage of S. aureus