Active surveillance detects a large proportion of MRSA and Acinetobacter species in the intensive care unit

Two hundred and ninety-eight patients were screened for Staphylococcus aureus and Acinetobacter sp. before discharge from the intensive care unit (ICU). Swabs were taken from the nose, throat, axilla, groin and rectum. Results were then compared with clinical specimens taken routinely during the study period. Twenty (6.9%) patients were positive for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) and nine (3.1%) for Acinetobacter sp. Screening detected more patients than clinical specimens for MRSA and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA), but not Acinetobacter sp. If only passive clinical surveillance were performed, 4/15 (26.7%) of Acinetobacter sp., 15/22 (68.2%) of MRSA and 53/60 (88.3%) of MSSA colonised patients would have been missed. Nasal, throat and rectal sites were most sensitive for MSSA and MRSA while groin, axilla and rectum were most sensitive for Acinetobacter sp.