HOSPITALIZED PATIENTS
Objectives: An alarming rise in Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus(MRSA) associated hospital based infections has been reported in recent decades.Prolongedhospital stay, unhygienic health services are confined to this challenging serious problem.Anterior nares of humans are a natural reservoir for Staphylococcus aureus with asymptomaticcolonization. This study was designed to determine the prevalence of nasal carriage rate ofMRSA among hospitalized patients. Study Design: Cross sectional study. Setting: PunjabInstitute of Cardiology, Lahore, Pakistan. Period: January 2013- 2014. Materials & Methods:Nasal swabs were collected from hospitalized patients. Total 2,440 patients were screened forthe nasal carriage of MRSA. Microbiologically, identification of S. aureus was done on the basisof colony morphology, Gram staining and biochemical tests. Identified isolates of S. aureus werefurther tested for cefoxitin susceptibility testing, following the technique of modified Kirby Bauer discdiffusion using Mueller-Hinton agar as per Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines2013. Results: Out of total 2,440 nasal swabs, 60.45% (1475/2440) were Staphylococcusspecies. Among Staphylococcus group, 86.10% (1270/1475) were Staphylococcus aureus.The frequency of MRSA and MSSA (Methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus) was 5.20%(66/1270) and 94.8% (1204/1270) respectively. Overall nasal carriage of MRSA is 2.70%(66/2440). The coagulase negative Staphylococcus were found in 205 (13.90%) cases whileMRSE (Methicillin resistance Staphylococcus epidermdis) were found in only 7 (3.41%) cases.Conclusion: Overall nasal carriage rate of MRSA was 2.70%.