The risk factors for Staphylococcus aureus nasal carriage have been mainly defined in healthy volunteers. Using data from a large multicenter prospective clinical cohort of orthopedic surgical patients we showed that obesity (BMI > 30) and younger age were independent risk factors for persistent carriage. In the absence of recommendations for S aureus decolonization in orthopedic surgery, this study suggests that at least obese patients should be targeted to prevent surgical site infections.
Keywords: Carriage; Colonization; Nosocomial infection; S aureus; Surgical site infection.
Copyright © 2014 Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.