Resident
Quan, Serena, PharmD
Residency Program
Northern Health
Project Title
MRSA Nares Screening: Finding the UtiLity in Predicting Culture-Proven MRSA Infections and Guiding Vancomycin Therapy (MRSA-FUL)
Investigators
Rahier, Alicia (BSc (Pharm), ACPR); Barr, Barret (BSc, PharmD, ACPR), Enemark, Aleisha (BSc, BSc (Pharm), ACPR); Hamour, Abuobeida (MBBS, MSc, DTM&H, MRCP(UK), CCST(UK), FRCP(Edin), FRCPC); Lewis, Jordan (BSc (Pharm), ACPR; Ling, Gordon (HBSc, BSc (Pharm), CDE, BCGP); Schurack, Bonnie, MLT
Abstract
While methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) nares screening was initially intended to determine isolation and contact precautions for infection prevention and control, emerging evidence suggests screen results may be applied clinically to avoid or de-escalate empiric therapy. Empiric anti-MRSA therapy often involves vancomycin, which is associated with nephrotoxicity and additional cost and resource utilization for therapeutic drug monitoring. We conducted a retrospective chart review to determine the clinical utility of MRSA nares screening in predicting culture-proven MRSA infections and to evaluate the clinical factors that may impact the duration of empiric vancomycin therapy at a tertiary hospital in Northern BC.
