Predicting Clearance of Colonization with Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci and Methicillin-Resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
by Use of Weekly Surveillance Cultures
Journal of Clinical Microbiology | February 26, 2009 | Volume: 47 | Issue: 4 | Pages: 1229-1230
ABSTRACT We analyzed surveillance cultures for vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) collected during a multicenter trial to determine if three negative cultures collected at weekly intervals would predict clearance of VRE or MRSA from colonized patients. Seventy-two percent of VRE-colonized patients and 94% of MRSA-colonized patients were culture negative after three consecutive negative cultures.