Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Jun;9(3):R246-50.
doi: 10.1186/cc3512. Epub 2005 Mar 31.

Use of intranasal mupirocin to prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in intensive care units

Arno Muller  1 , Daniel Talon, Alexandre Potier, Evelyne Belle, Gilles Cappelier, Xavier Bertrand
Affiliations

Use of intranasal mupirocin to prevent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection in intensive care units

Arno Muller et al. Crit Care. 2005 Jun.

Abstract

Introduction: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) causes severe morbidity and mortality in intensive care units (ICUs) worldwide. The purpose of this study was to determine whether intranasal mupirocin prophylaxis is useful to prevent ICU-acquired infections with MRSA.

Materials and methods: We conducted a 4-year observational retrospective study in a 15-bed adult medical ICU. During the first 2-year period mupirocin ointment was included in the MRSA control programme; during the second, mupirocin was not used. The main endpoint was the number of endogenous ICU-acquired infections with MRSA.

Results: The number of endogenous acquired infections was significantly higher during the second period than during the first (11 versus 1; P = 0.02), although there was no significant difference in the total number of patients infected with MRSA between the two periods. We also observed that nasal MRSA decolonisation was significantly higher in the mupirocin period than in mupirocin-free period (P = 0.002).

Conclusion: Our findings suggest that intranasal mupirocin can prevent endogenous acquired MRSA infection in an ICU. Further double-blind, randomised, placebo-controlled studies are needed to demonstrate its cost-effectiveness and its impact on resistance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Aubry-Damon H, Legrand P, Brun-Buisson C, Astier A, Soussy CJ, Leclercq R. Reemergence of gentamicin-susceptible strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus : roles of an infection control program and changes in aminoglycoside use. Clin Infect Dis. 1997;25:647–653. - PubMed
    1. Bertrand X, Thouverez M, Talon D. Antibiotic susceptibility and genotypic characterization of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus strains in eastern France. J Hosp Infect. 2000;46:280–287. doi: 10.1053/jhin.2000.0841. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cosgrove SE, Sakoulas G, Perencevich EN, Schwaber MJ, Karchmer AW, Carmeli Y. Comparison of mortality associated with methicillin-resistant and methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia: a meta-analysis. Clin Infect Dis. 2003;36:53–59. doi: 10.1086/345476. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Albertini MT, Benoit C, Berardi L, Berrouane Y, Boisivon A, Cahen P, Cattoen C, Costa Y, Darchis P, Deliere E, et al. Surveillance of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Enterobacteriaceae producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBLE) in Northern France: a five-year multicentre incidence study. J Hosp Infect. 2002;52:107–113. doi: 10.1053/jhin.2002.1286. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Girou E, Pujade G, Legrand P, Cizeau F, Brun-Buisson C. Selective screening of carriers for control of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in high-risk hospital areas with a high level of endemic MRSA. Clin Infect Dis. 1998;27:543–550. - PubMed

MeSH terms