Higher prevalence of pharyngeal than nasal Staphylococcus aureus carriage in pediatric intensive care units

J Clin Microbiol. 2010 Aug;48(8):2957-9. doi: 10.1128/JCM.00547-10. Epub 2010 Jun 23.

Abstract

Sensitive detection of Staphylococcus aureus colonization is important for epidemiologic studies, infection control, and decolonization measures. We examined the sensitivity of nasal and pharyngeal sampling for S. aureus colonization in 331 children admitted to intensive care units. Pharyngeal screening was more sensitive than nasal screening (92.6% versus 63.1%, P < 0.0001).

Publication types

  • Comparative Study
  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Bacteriological Techniques / methods*
  • Carrier State / diagnosis*
  • Carrier State / microbiology
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Intensive Care Units, Pediatric
  • Nose / microbiology*
  • Pharynx / microbiology*
  • Prevalence
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Staphylococcal Infections / diagnosis*
  • Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology
  • Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification*