TY - JOUR
T1 - Prevalence of oral methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an institutionalized veterans population.
AU - Owen, M. K.
PY - 1994
Y1 - 1994
N2 - Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a nosocomial pathogen now of great concern in nursing homes and other institutional settings. MRSA has been well-documented to inhabit the nares, skin wounds, and respiratory tract, but little is known about its presence in the oral cavity. In this study, all patients admitted to an 80-bed VA extended care facility were cultured weekly for 12 weeks to detect the presence of MRSA in the nares, wounds, in-dwelling devices, and the oral cavity. Of a total of 107 participating subjects, 20 cultured positive for oral MRSA, yielding a prevalence of 18.7%, compared with 19.6% prevalence in the nares--the traditionally accepted screening site for MRSA. There was a 91.6% agreement between oral and nasal carriage in subjects, but four of 107 subjects (3.7%) cultured positive for oral MRSA without evidence of nasal carriage. These results suggest that oral MRSA may be more common than previously thought in high-risk settings, with a prevalence comparable with that of nasal infection. Further investigation is necessary to characterize the factors associated with the presence of MRSA in the oral cavity.
AB - Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a nosocomial pathogen now of great concern in nursing homes and other institutional settings. MRSA has been well-documented to inhabit the nares, skin wounds, and respiratory tract, but little is known about its presence in the oral cavity. In this study, all patients admitted to an 80-bed VA extended care facility were cultured weekly for 12 weeks to detect the presence of MRSA in the nares, wounds, in-dwelling devices, and the oral cavity. Of a total of 107 participating subjects, 20 cultured positive for oral MRSA, yielding a prevalence of 18.7%, compared with 19.6% prevalence in the nares--the traditionally accepted screening site for MRSA. There was a 91.6% agreement between oral and nasal carriage in subjects, but four of 107 subjects (3.7%) cultured positive for oral MRSA without evidence of nasal carriage. These results suggest that oral MRSA may be more common than previously thought in high-risk settings, with a prevalence comparable with that of nasal infection. Further investigation is necessary to characterize the factors associated with the presence of MRSA in the oral cavity.
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U2 - 10.1111/j.1754-4505.1994.tb01106.x
DO - 10.1111/j.1754-4505.1994.tb01106.x
M3 - Article
C2 - 7871467
AN - SCOPUS:0028403664
SN - 0275-1879
VL - 14
SP - 75
EP - 79
JO - Special care in dentistry : official publication of the American Association of Hospital Dentists, the Academy of Dentistry for the Handicapped, and the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry
JF - Special care in dentistry : official publication of the American Association of Hospital Dentists, the Academy of Dentistry for the Handicapped, and the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry
IS - 2
ER -