Journal of Occupational

Background: Nosocomial infections are an important cause of hospital mortalities. Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) carriers among medical staff are an important source of nosocomial infections. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the nasal carriers of S. aureus and antibiotic resistance in staff of Nikuee Hospital, Qom, Iran.

Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 152 health care workers (HCWs) were assessed to determine the frequency of nasal carriage of S. aureus, the rates of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and their antibiotic resistance profiles in Nikuee Hospital in 2012. Clinical samples were cultured and S. aureus was detected using conventional bacteriologic methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility patterns against penicillin, vancomycin, erythromycin, clindamycin, cefazolin, co-trimoxazole, and doxycycline were evaluated using the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion technique. Methicillin resistance was confirmed by oxacillin disk diffusion test. Data were analyzed in SPSS software using chi-square test and independent two-sample t-test.

Results: Among the processed samples, 34.2% illustrated nasal carriage of S. aureus, and among them, 23.5% were carriers of MRSA. None of the isolates were resistant to vancomycin. However, 96.1%, 33.3%, 27.5%, 19.6%, 9.8%, and 15.7% resistance to penicillin, erythromycin, clindamycin, cefazolin, co-trimoxazole, and doxycycline were observed. There was no significant relationship between sex, age, and number of years of healthcare service and positive nasal carriage.

Conclusions: Data obtained in this study revealed high prevalence of nasal carriage of S. aureus (34.2%) in HCWs at Nikuee Hospital. Therefore, it can be concluded that the role of the hospital staff in Nikuee Hospital as a source of staphylococcal infections is prominent. Thus, to prevent nosocomial infections, we recommend the identification and treatment of the carriers among the staff of other hospitals.