Eradication of Low-Level Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Skin Colonization with Topical Mupirocin

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Abstract
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MKSA) infections have become a major problem in many US hospitals in the last ten years.‘,’ Attempts to solve the problem have been hampered by many factors. One of these factors is the difficulty in eradicating the organism from colonized sites and thereby removing one of the reservoirs of endemicity. Another complicating factor is the lack of consistency in the published literature regarding what constitutes eradication and, therefore, when it is appropriate to discontinue isolation of patients or work restrictions of personnel. Even the decisions regarding when and how often to culture personnel remain difficult to define.” Finally, although the Australian experience illustrated an environmental component to an MRSA outbreak, the role of the environment in MRSA infections remains unclear. The following report describes the measures utilized to eradicate low-level MRSA skin colonization in a long-term psychiatric patient and illustrates several problems of-long-term MRSA carriage in institutionalized patients.