Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Carriage and Infection in Patients on Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis

Abstract

We studied 140 consecutive patients beginning continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) at one of seven hospitals to assess the relation of the nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus to subsequent catheter-exit-site infection or peritonitis. Shortly before the implantation of the catheters, the patients' anterior nares were cultured for the presence of S. aureus. Antibiotics were not prescribed for the S. aureus carriers, but all the patients were monitored for signs of catheter infection (median follow-up, 10.4 months).