Evaluation of a strategy of screening multiple anatomical sites for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus at admission to a teaching hospital.

We compared the sensitivity of screening with nasal culture alone with that of a multiple-site screening method for the identification of carriers of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus at hospital admission. If nasal cultures alone had been used during the 1-year study, 27.0% of carriers of methicillin-resistant S. aureus would have been missed, which corresponds to 560 theoretical isolation days. If rectal screening had not been used, 431 theoretical isolation days would have been missed, and, if axillary screening had not been used, 99 theoretical isolation days would have been missed.