Surgical site infection risk following pre-operative MRSA detection in elective orthopaedic surgery

AimsThe aim of this study was to determine the risk of post-operative surgical site infection (SSI) in patients undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery who were colonised with MRSA.MethodsAll patients admitted for elective orthopaedic surgery from January 2008 to December 2012 were screened for MRSA. MRSA positive patients were identified and given topical suppression therapy.Results11,567 patients were screened for MRSA. Ninety-nine (0.9%) were colonised and eighty-eight (88.9%) proceeded to surgery. Three patients (3.4%) developed post-operative superficial SSIs. Two were in patients who had total knee replacements (TKR).ConclusionWe conclude that patients should be informed of an increased SSI risk if colonised with MRSA pre-operatively.