Diagnostic accuracy of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization to predict methicillin-resistant S aureus soft tissue infections

Craig G Gunderson; Jurgen L Holleck; John J Chang; Naseema Merchant; Shin Lin; Shaili Gupta

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2016.03.039

Diagnostic accuracy of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization to predict methicillin-resistant S aureus soft tissue infections

Am J Infect Control. 2016 Oct 1;44(10):1176-1177. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2016.03.039. Epub 2016 Jun 13.

Authors

Craig G Gunderson¹, Jurgen L Holleck², John J Chang², Naseema Merchant², Shin Lin², Shaili Gupta³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT.
³ Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT; Department of Medicine, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT; Section of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.

PMID: 27311510
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2016.03.039

Abstract

Nasal methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) testing at admission to the hospital was found to have a positive likelihood ratio of 8.5 and a negative likelihood ratio of 0.41 for predicting MRSA soft tissue infections. The clinical utility of this test depends on the prevalence of MRSA infection. In high prevalence populations, nasal MRSA is useful to rule in MRSA infections. In low prevalence populations it may be useful to rule out infections.

Keywords: Sensitivity and specificity; methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; nasal cavity/microbiology.

MeSH terms

Cohort Studies
Connecticut / epidemiology
Female
Hospitalization
Humans
Male
Methicillin / pharmacology
Methicillin Resistance
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / isolation & purification*
Middle Aged
Nasal Cavity / microbiology
Prevalence
Sensitivity and Specificity
Soft Tissue Infections / epidemiology*
Soft Tissue Infections / microbiology
Staphylococcal Infections / epidemiology*
Staphylococcal Infections / microbiology

Substances

Methicillin