[Intestinal flora of inpatients and isolation frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus]

The authors compared intestinal flora from 30 healthy volunteers and 128 inpatients. E. coli, B. fragilis, and Bifidobacterium were each detected in the stools of healthy subjects at a frequency of more than 90%, while the incidences of such flora were low in the stools of inpatients: A significant difference was observed between the two groups. E. faecium, P. aeruginosa, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), C. difficile, and Candida were detected at high frequencies in the stools of inpatients, as compared with healthy subjects. This finding is attributed to the administration of antimicrobial agents. It is also considered that microbial interaction in maintaining the balance among normal intestinal flora had been lost in patients from whom MRSA and/or C. difficile was isolated. The decrease or elimination of bacterial species antagonistic to such resistant strains must be guarded against, because this can lead to weakening of the defence mechanism against intestinal infection.