Nasal and cutaneous carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in hemodialysis patients: the effect of nasal mupirocin

Abstract

Fifteen of 20 hemodialysis patients who carried Staphylococcus aureus in their nares also carried the organism on their hands; 2 of 20 patients who did not carry S aureus in their nares carried S aureus on their hands (P < .001). Eighty-seven percent of patients who carried S aureus in their nares and on their hands carried the same strain at both sites. Intranasal mupirocin eliminated S aureus from both sites.