Researchers discover way to cut rate of Staphylococcus aureus
January 13, 2010
A team of researchers from the Netherlands has reported that rapid screening of surgical patients for Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in their nasal cavities prior to surgery and treating infected patients with an antibacterial nasal gel and body wash can cut infection rates by 60%, reports Reuters. The study was originally published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Patients who are carriers of S. aureus have a higher risk of developing a healthcare acquired infection (HAI). Patients who contract HAIs often have increased lengths of stay.
Researchers wanted to know if rapidly identifying surgical patients who were colonized with S.aureus in their nose and giving them a mupirocin nasal gel as well as clorhexidine body wash prior to surgery would help lower their risk of contracting a HAI. Those patients who tested positive and were given this treatment contracted a HAI 3.4% of the time, as compared with 7.7% in the group of patients who did not receive the nasal gel or body wash.
To read more from Reuters, click here.
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