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Does Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage require eradication prior to elective ambulatory surgery in children?

Zvi Steiner1, Orna Ben Natan, Igor Sukhotnik

  • 1Department of Pediatric Surgery B, Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, Hadera, Israel, tzvikast@012.net.il.

Pediatric Surgery International
|March 8, 2014
PubMed

Insights

Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage in children undergoing surgery did not correlate with wound infections. Routine screening for S. aureus nasal colonization may not be necessary for these pediatric patients.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric infectious diseases
  • Surgical site infections
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Rising rates of community-associated Staphylococcus aureus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in children.
  • Need to understand the relationship between nasal carriage and infection risk.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the rates of Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization in children.
  • To determine if there is a correlation between nasal carriage and subsequent wound infection.

Main Methods:

  • Prospective study of 1,127 children undergoing elective day-care surgical procedures.
  • Nasal swabs collected pre-operatively.
  • Follow-up for wound infection 1-2 weeks post-surgery.

Main Results:

  • 20.2% of children carried S. aureus in their nasal passages.
  • MRSA nasal carriage was found in 0.62% of the children.
  • No correlation was found between S. aureus nasal carriage and surgical wound infections; none of the five children with wound infections were nasal carriers.

Conclusions:

  • Nasal S. aureus carriage does not appear to be a significant risk factor for wound infections in children undergoing elective ambulatory surgery.
  • Screening for and eradicating S. aureus nasal colonization may not be clinically indicated in this pediatric population.
Abstract

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