Extranasal S. aureus Common In Maintenance HD Patients

Extranasal Staphylococcus aureus colonization is present in about one-third ofmaintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients, according to a new study. 

Samantha J. Eells, MPH, of the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor -UCLA Medical Center, surveyed 100 MHD patients at 3 body sites—anterior nares,oropharynx, and inguinal region—for S. aureus, a common cause of healthcare-associatedinfections in MHD patients. Results showed that 42% of patients were S. aureuscolonized at more than 1 body site and 32% of patients had extranasal colonization. 

“Future S. aureus decolonization effects may need to consider not just nasal decolonizationbut also decolonization of the skin and oropharynx,” the authors concluded. 

In their acknowledgement of study limitations, the researchers noted that theyenrolled study subjects from a single metropolitan area. so findings may not begeneralizable to other HD populations.

From the March 01, 2015 Issue of Renal and Urology News