Abstract
Background: There is a rising prevalence of both hospital-acquired and community-associated
strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections. Both strains are found in patients presenting to emergency departments
(EDs). Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify objects in the ED that
might contribute to the spread of MRSA. Methods: This was a cross-sectional prevalence
study in which culture swabs were taken from 20 different objects in a large urban
ED between May and August 2006. The objects were identified a priori, and included
common items found in an ED. Items ranging from computers to telephones, desktop surfaces,
security door keypads, and ultrasound probes were included in the study. Each item
was cultured twice, on separate days, for a total of 40 samples. The samples were
screened for the presence of MRSA, and positive samples underwent additional susceptibility
analysis. Results: Only one sample of 40, from the ambulance bay security door keypad,
was positive for MRSA. Thus, the prevalence of MRSA was 2.5%. The single strain isolated
was resistant to clindamycin, erythromycin, oxacillin, and penicillin. Conclusion:
MRSA does not seem to thrive on inanimate objects found in the ED. Routine cleaning
measures in an urban ED must include all areas of medical personnel use, including
areas outside of the department utilized by non-ED workers.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 29, 2008
Accepted:
August 2,
2008
Received in revised form:
June 21,
2008
Received:
April 4,
2008
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
