Nasal carriage and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria in health care workers in an intensive care unit

Abstract:

ObjectiveTo evaluate nasal carriage and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria in health care workers(HCWs) in an intensive care unit (ICU), and provide basis for making prevention and control measures of healthcareassociated infection(HAI).MethodsFrom April 2014 to March 2015, nasal swabs from HCWs in ICU were collected, carriage and antimicrobial resistance of bacteria were detected.ResultsA total of 450 nasal swab specimens were taken, 137 strains were isolated, isolation rate was 30.44%. There were no significant difference in nasal carriage rates of bacteria in HCWs with different genders, ages, types of work, length of service, and educational level (P>0.05); nasal carriage rates in HCWs at different seasons were significantly different (P<0.05). 82 strains (59.85%) were gramnegative bacteria, the major were Klebsiella pneumoniae （21.16%）and Enterobacter aerogenes（18.98%） ; 55 strains (40.15% ) were grampositive bacteria, the major were Staphylococcus aureus （18.98%）and Staphylococcus epidermidis（15.33%）. 38 (27.74%）strains were multidrugresistant strains. 7.69% （2/26） of Staphylococcus aureus were methicillinresistant strains, 3.45%（1/29）of Klebsiella pneumoniae and 3.85%（1/26）of Enterobacter aerogenes were imipenemresistant strains.ConclusionNasal carriage rate of bacteria and detection rate of multidrugresistant organisms in HCWs in ICU is high.