Awareness of World Health Organization methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus guidelines at Alexandria...

This cross-sectional study aimed to assess knowledge of routes of transmission, awareness of MRSA control guidelines and reasons for non-adherence to guidelines among medical staff at Alexandria University hospitals. A random sample of 158 physicians and 47 nurses answered a self-administered questionnaire. Overall awareness of MRSA control guidelines was 67.3%, and nurses were significantly more aware than physicians (91.5% versus 60.1%). The lowest awareness level was among anaesthesiologists; only 54.4% knew the correct transmission routes. Among medical staff overall, 70.0% accepted the necessity of screening measures for high-risk patients and 35.8% of doctors accepted the use of the same pair of gloves when caring for different body sites on an individual patient. Lack of resources was the most common justification for suboptimum adherence. The study showed low awareness levels of MRSA-related guidelines.