Aqsa Aslam, Maria Aslam, Saima Inam.
Nasal Carriage of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus among Healthcare Workers of Sharif Medical City Hospital, Lahore and their Response to Treatment with Mupirocin Ointment.
J Sharif Med Dent Coll Jan ;4(1):35-9.

Objective: To detect the frequency of nasal carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus among healthcare workers of Sharif Medical City Hospital, Lahore and observe their response to treatment with mupirocin ointment. Methodology: It was a cross-sectional descriptive study conducted at Pathology Department of Sharif Medical City Hospital (SMCH), Lahore. The study was approved by the ethical committee of the hospital. One hundred and two healthcare workers (HCWs) including doctors and paramedical staff were included in the study by probability random sampling. Informed consent was taken from all the participants. The nasal swabs of HCWs were taken and inoculated on blood agar. The plates were incubated for 24-48 hours at 37 C. The isolates of Staphylococcus were identified by colony morphology, gram staining and catalase test. The DNase agar was inoculated for Staphylococcus and incubated for 24 hours at 37 C. The antibiotic (cefoxitin) sensitivity testing of DNase positive Staphylococcus aureus was performed using disc-diffusion method. The zone diameter of 22mm or more was considered sensitive according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. The MRSA carrier HCWs were treated with mupirocin ointment for 7 days and their nasal swabs were repeated after treatment. Results: Out of 102 HCWs, Staphyloccus aureus was isolated from nasal swabs of 25(24.5%) HCWs. Twenty two strains of Staphylococcus aureus were methicillin-sensitive and only 3 were methicillin-resistant. Coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species (CONS) was predominant in the nasal swabs of most of the HCWS (75.5%). The 3 MRSA positive HCWs were one doctor from pathology department, one staff nurse from nursery and one OTA from anesthesia department. They were given mupirocin nasal ointment for 7 days. Their nasal swabs were again taken after a week. The nasal swabs of all the 3 HCWs became MRSA negative. Conclusion: The nasal carriage of MRSA was low (2.9%) in Sharif Medical City Hospital, Lahore and mupirocin ointment is effective in the treatment of nasal MRSA carriers. Keywords: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Healthcare workers (HCWs). Mupirocin ointment

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