Relative Frequency of Staphylococcal Carriage and Antibiotic Sensitivity of Isolated Staphylococci in Hemodialysis Patients in Shiraz, Iran

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the nasal carriage rate of Staphylococcus aureus in hemodialysis patients and the antibiogram of all isolated S. aureus from carriers. Subjects and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out from May to September 2007. 130 patients (49 females, 81 males; mean age 55.6 ± 15.2 years) with chronic renal failure were included in the study. The patients had undergone hemodialysis for at least 12 months in the dialysis ward of Faghihi Hospital, a referral center in Shiraz, Iran. Swab specimens were taken from the anterior nares and skin of the patients and cultured microbiologically. Next, antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed for all of the isolated S. aureus. Results: 32 (24.6%) patients (95% CI 17.5–32.9%) were nasal carriers of S. aureus versus 98 (75.4%) non-carriers. S. aureus was also isolated from skin of 5 (3.8%) patients who were nasal carriers as well. The isolated S. aureus were 100, 97.3, 73.0, 70.3, 40.5 and 21.6% sensitive to vancomycin, rifampin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, methicillin and erythromycin, respectively. Conclusion: Because the nasal carriage rate of S. aureus observed in dialysis patients in this study was relatively high, we recommend screening for S. aureus in hemodialysis patients to enable prompt prevention strategies.