Skip Navigation


Age and Ageing Advance Access originally published online on February 12, 2008
Age and Ageing 2008 37(3):294-299; doi:10.1093/ageing/afn021
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Supplementary Data
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
37/3/294    most recent
afn021v1
Right arrow E-Letters: Submit a response to the article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Eveillard, M.
Right arrow Articles by Branger, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Eveillard, M.
Right arrow Articles by Branger, C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Copyright © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Geriatrics Society.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carriage in a long-term care facility: hypothesis about selection and transmission

Matthieu Eveillard1, Philippe Charru2, Pierre Rufat3, Marie-Claire Hippeaux1, Evelyne Lancien1, Farida Benselama2 and Catherine Branger1

1 Hôpital Louis Mourier (AP-HP), Microbiologie-hygiène, France
2 Hôpital Louis Mourier, Gérontologie, France
3 Groupe Hospitalier Pitié Salpétrière, Santé Publique, France

Address correspondence to: Matthieu Eveillard. Email: maeveillard{at}chu-angers.fr

Background: many studies have identified long-term care facilities (LTCFs) as reservoirs of patients carrying methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). However, few data about the mechanisms of MRSA diffusion in these settings are available.

Objectives: the purpose of our study was to suggest hypothesis on the possible ways of MRSA transmission to residents in or outside a LTCF.

Methods: data concerning patients on the day of the survey and within the preceding year were collected. Multivariate analysis was performed by logistic regression to identify characteristics associated with MRSA carriage. MRSA strains were analysed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and the relatedness between DNA patterns was studied with Gel Compar software.

Results: the prevalence of MRSA carriage was 37.6%. Treatment with fluoroquinolones or third-generation cephalosporins [odds ratio (OR) = 12.07; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 5.90–24.7], treatment with other antimicrobial agents (OR = 4.40; 95% CI = 2.43–7.97), at least one medical imaging session (OR = 5.08; 95% CI = 2.66–9.69) within the 12 preceding months, and the presence of a subcutaneous catheter on the day of the survey (OR = 3.09; 95% CI = 1.87–5.10) were independently associated with MRSA carriage. Twenty-eight of the 38 strains tested were clustered in two major groups. In each of these groups, strains had at least a 90% relatedness. These strains were isolated in patients hospitalised in different areas of the LTCF.

Conclusion: we identified that both molecular and epidemiological arguments support the hypothesis of the possibility of MRSA cross-transmission inside the LTCF. Further studies are needed to confirm and explain the association identified between MRSA carriage and medical imaging.

Keywords: MRSA carriage, long-term care facility, cross-transmission, elderly

Received 9 October 2007; accepted in revised form 29 November 2007.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Antimicrob ChemotherHome page
O. Denis, B. Jans, A. Deplano, C. Nonhoff, R. De Ryck, C. Suetens, and M. J. Struelens
Epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among residents of nursing homes in Belgium
J. Antimicrob. Chemother., December 1, 2009; 64(6): 1299 - 1306.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.