Prevalence and Risk Factors of Staphylococcus aureus Infection in Hospitalized Patient in Tirana

Introduction: Staphylococcus aureus is a significant pathogen in human medicine. The prevalence of S. aureus varies between age, gender, ethnicity, geographic location, and body niche. S. aureus is very well adapted to colonize the nares, throat, perineum skin and the intestine also. So the human body and skin probably provide favorite condition for this species. The aim of the study is to evaluate the prevalence of S. aureus, and also to describe observational result of the influence bacterial-host and environmental/modifiable factors might have on the relationship with humans. Method: This study was carried out from October 2016 to December 2017 across hospitalized patients from different units of Mother Theresa Hospital Center. About 258 Clinical specimens were collected based on infection type such as wound, pus/exudates, blood, urine, sputum and indwelling medical devices. We isolated and identified S. aureus using standard tests like catalase, coagulase, and growth on mannitol salt agar. Results: Over all 258 specimens tested, the prevalence of S. aureus was found in 36% patients. Out of all 93 cases isolated with S. aureus, 25% were from urine infections; 24.6 % from skin and soft-tissue infections cases; 20.4 from vaginal and urethral swab; 15% from nasal and ear swab cases and 15% from blood stream, indwelling medical devices and catheter-associated infections. We did find statistically significant differences between Infection and sex, residence area, wards and place where the samples were collected. In all cases the p value was<0.05. Conclusions: The rate of S. aureus in hospitalized patients in this study was high. These results indicated that this type of infection is a significant concern for health services and patients. The highest percentage of S. aureus found in surgical and non-surgical wounds suggests that further investigation should be implemented. A screening of all hospitalized cases can lead to reduce the incidence of this infection in the hospital environment and control the risk factors.