Infection and/or colonization by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE)

We analyzed the parameters predictive of identification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) in sample performed in hospitalized patients, One hundred six Staphylococcus epidermidis strains (60 MRSE and 46 MSSE) were collected. Three variables were independently linked to MRSE isolation in multivariate analysis: hospitalization during the month preceding the current admission; on-going antimicrobial therapy before sampling, and on-going infection at the time of sampling. MRSE isolation was associated with a poor vital prognosis. The air and surfaces sampling in the rooms of two patients with nasal MRSE carriage yielded the same strains as those carried by the patient, and could play a role In the epidemiological chain of hospital-acquired MRSE infections. (C) 2001 Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS.