Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal swabs predict need for antibiotic coverage in a trauma population.
Negative Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal swab reliably ruled out Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia in trauma patients.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal swabs predict need for antibiotic coverage in a trauma population.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) nasal swab screening in a general intensive care unit population has been shown to have a high negative predictive value (negative predictive value) and is used to guide antibiotic stewardship.
The purpose of this study is to assess the utility of the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal swab in predicting Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia in a trauma population.
A retrospective review of trauma intensive care unit patients who received an Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal swab from 2020 to 2023 was performed.
a negative swab almost always means no Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia
There were no significant differences in age, body mass index, smoking, or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease between the swab positive and swab negative groups.
Five patients (3.1%) developed Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia, and all but one of these had a positive Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal swab.
This is one of the largest studies to date to examine the utility of the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal swab in the trauma population.
The high negative predictive value (96.5%) for the prediction of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus culture growth and ventilator-associated pneumonia suggests that Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal swabs may be a useful tool for antibiotics stewardship in the trauma population.
( J Trauma Acute Care Surg . 2026;100: 901-905. © 2026 American Association for the Surgery of Trauma.). LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Retrospective Cohort Study, Therapeutic Care/Management; Level IV.