Open AccessThe prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization in emergency department fast track patients
Author(s) -
Kelly Williamson,
April Bisaga,
Katherine Paquette,
Elise Lovell
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
world journal of emergency medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1920-8642
DOI - 10.5847/wjem.j.issn.1920-8642.2013.04.006
Subject(s) - medicine , emergency department , epidemiology , staphylococcus aureus , methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus , colonization , outbreak , abscess , emergency medicine , surgery , microbiology and biotechnology , pathology , psychiatry , genetics , biology , bacteria
Over the past two decades, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has evolved from a hospital-associated infection to a significant public health threat in the community, causing outbreaks of soft tissue infections in otherwise healthy individuals. The goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of nasal MRSA colonization in low acuity Emergency Department (ED) Fast Track patients in order to better characterize the epidemiology of this pathogen.