Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T17:09:10.402Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Colonization in Patients with Cirrhosis: Prospective Assessment of Association with Infection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2015

Feng Yee Chang
Affiliation:
Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Nina Singh*
Affiliation:
Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Timothy Gayowski
Affiliation:
Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Marilyn M. Wagener
Affiliation:
Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Ignazio R. Marino
Affiliation:
Veterans' Affairs Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
*
Infectious Disease Section, VA Medical Center, University Dr C, Pittsburgh, PA 15240

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To determine if Staphylococcus aureus colonization of the anterior nares was a risk factor for S aureus infection in patients with cirrhosis and to determine the predictors of S aureus infection in colonized patients.

DESIGN: Prospective cohort study.

PATIENTS:84 consecutive patients with cirrhosis admitted to the liver transplant unit of a university-affiliated Veterans' Affairs Medical Center.

RESULTS: Overall, 39 (46%) of the 84 patients were nasal carriers of S aureus, of which 24 (29%) were methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and 15 (18%) were methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA). Only MRSA, but never MSSA, carriage was acquired in the hospital; all 15 of the MSSA versus 14 (58%) of the 24 MRSA carriers were nasal carriers on first (admission) culture (P=.001). Of the 10 (42%) of 24 MRSA carriers who were not colonized on admission, 3 became MRSA carriers within 1 month, and 7 acquired MRSA carriage more than a month later. Higher Child-Pugh score was independently associated with MRSA carriage (odds ratio [OR], 1.54; 95% confidence interval [CI95], 1.1-2.3). S aureus nasal carriers (9 [23%] of 39) were significantly more likely to develop S aureus infections than noncarriers (2 [4%] of 45; P=.02). Central venous catheter use was associated independently with S aureus infections in the carriers (OR, 4.1; CI95, 2.8-6.1). Mortality was significantly higher in carriers who developed S aureus infections as compared to those who did not (57% vs 13%; P=.022); S aureus infection was an independent predictor of mortality in the carriers (OR, 8.7; CI95, 1.2-63.8).

CONCLUSIONS:Colonization of the anterior nares was a significant predictor of S aureus infection in patients with cirrhosis

Type
Original Articles
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. McCashland, TM, Sorrell, MF, Zetterman, RK. Bacterial endocarditis in patients with chronic liver disease. Am J Gastroen-terology 1994;89:924927.Google Scholar
2. Singh, N, Yu, VL, Wagener, MM, Gayowski, T. Fever in cirrhosis in the 1990s: a prospective study with clinical implications. Clin Infect Dis 1997;24:11351138. Abstract.Google Scholar
3. Weinkle, T, Schiller, R, Fehrenbach, FJ, Pohle, HD. Association between Staphylococcus aureus nasopharyngeal colonization and septicemia in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 1992;11:985989.Google Scholar
4. Ganesh, R, Castle, D, McGibbon, D, Phillips, I, Bradbeer, C. Staphylococcal carriage and HIV infection. Lancet 1989;2:558.Google Scholar
5. Pujol, M, Pena, C, Pallares, R, Ariza, J, Ayats, J, Dominguez, MA, Gudiol, F. Nosocomial Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia among nasal carriers of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-suscepti- ble strains. Am J Med 1996;100:509516.Google Scholar
6. Muder, RR, Brennen, C, Wagener, MM, Vickers, RM, Rihs, JD, Hancock, GA, et al. Methicillin-resistant staphylococcal colonization and infection in a long-term care facility. Ann Intern Med 1991;114:107112.Google Scholar
7. Kirmani, N, Tuazon, CU, Murray, HW, Parrish, AE, Sheagren, JN. Staphylococcus aureus carriage rate of patients receiving longterm hemodialysis. Arch Intern Med 1978;138:16571659.Google Scholar
8. Nguyen, MH, Kauffman, C, Arbeit, R, Goodman, R, Squier, C, Singh, N. Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage and infection in HIV-infected patients. In: Programs and abstracts of the 35th Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy; 09 1995; San Francisco, CA. Abstract.Google Scholar
9. Mulligan, ME, Murray-Leisure, KA, Ribner, BS, Standiford, HC, John, JF, Korvick, JA, Kauffman, CA, et al. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: a consensus review of the microbiology, pathogenesis, and epidemiology with implications for prevention and management. Am J Med 1993;94:313328.Google Scholar
10. Chow, JW, Yu, VL. Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage in hemodialysis patients; its role in infection and approaches to prophylaxis. Arch Intern Med 1989;149:12581262.Google Scholar
11. Garner, JS, Jarvis, WR, Emori, TG, Horan, TC, Hughes, JM. CDC definitions for nosocomial infections. Am J Infect Control 1988;16:128140.Google Scholar
12. Sherlock, S, Dooley, J. Hepatic cirrhosis. In: Sherlock, S, Dooley, J, eds. Diseases of the Liver and Biliary System. Oxford, England: Blackwell Scientific; 1992:357369.Google Scholar
13. Yu, VL, Goetz, A, Wagener, M, Smith, PB, Ribs, JD, Hanchett, J, et al. Staphylococcus nasal carriage and infection in patients on hemodialysis: efficacy of antibiotic prophylaxis. N Engl J Med 1986;315:9196.Google Scholar
14. Densen, P, Clark, RA, Nauseef, WM. Grandcytic phagocytes. In: Mandell, GL, Benett, JE, Dolin, R, eds. Principles and Practices of Infectious Diseases. New York, NY: Churchill Livingstone; 1995:78101.Google Scholar
15. Bailey, RJ, Woolf, IL, Cullens, H, et al. Metabolic inhibition of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in fulminant hepatic failure. Lancet 1976;1:11621163.Google Scholar
16. Boyce, JM, White, RL, Spruill, EY. Impact of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus on the incidence of nosocomial staphylococcal infections. J Infect Dis 1983;148:763.Google Scholar