The effect of Staphylococcus aureus nasal burden on the incidence of endogenous infection: a single center prospective observational cohort study in tertiary-care – towards decolonization of high-risk patients 

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Dennis Nurjadi
• Subject Area: Clinical Infectiology and Tropical Medicine ; Medical Microbiology and Mycology, Hygiene, Molecular Infection Biology
• Term: from 2018 to 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 400666679

Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most significant causes of hospital acquired infections and nasal carriers were found to be at substantially increased risk. Even though methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) exhibit the same virulence and clinical impact as their methicillin-resistant counterpart (MRSA), prevention of infection through screening and nasal decolonization has largely focused on MRSA. Clearly, methicillin resistance in colonizing S. aureus is a suboptimal prognostic marker for endogenous S. aureus infection and better tools to identify patients at high risk and thus for targeted nasal decolonization are needed. Besides, better definition of high-risk populations would allow the efficient study of innovative preventive interventions such as vaccines. This study aims to assess the effect of quantitative nasal S. aureus bacterial burden on the incidence of endogenous, nosocomial infections and the use of single-swabs analyzed on a standardised high-throughput system in this context towards selective decolonization of high-risk patients. In the era of increasing antibiotic resistance, selective decolonization would promote a more responsible antibiotic use as infection prevention measures by reducing unnecessary use thus reducing selection pressure and preventing resistance development.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr. Klaus Michael Heeg; Privatdozent Dr. Philipp Zanger