Knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA MRSA ) infection control and nasal MRSA MRSA carriage rate among dental health‐care professionals

摘要

Background Dental health‐care professionals ( DHCP s) with nasal colonisation of methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( MRSA ) can serve as a reservoir for MRSA transmission to others and be exposed to self‐contamination with MRSA . Evaluating the knowledge, attitudes and actual practice of DHCP s is imperative for appropriate infection control. Methods Dentists, dental hygienists and dental technologists from Seoul National University Dental Hospital were recruited to participate in a cross‐sectional survey and undergo nasal sampling of MRSA . The survey included demographic questions, six questions about knowledge, eight questions about attitudes/perceptions and six questions about practices/behaviours regarding MRSA infection control. Nasal samples from the participants were analysed for MRSA presence, antimicrobial susceptibility and staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec ( SCC mec ) typing. MRSA carriers underwent decolonisation with topical mupirocin. Results Among 139 DHCP s, four (2.9%) were nasal MRSA carriers. Decolonisation was successful in three participants. One participant was decolonised with topical fusidic acid after failure to decolonise with mupirocin. Dentists had a higher knowledge score compared with the other professionals ( P 0.05). Dental hygienists scored higher on practice questions compared with the other professionals ( P 0.05). There was a significant, positive correlation between attitude and practice scores ( P 0.01). Conclusions The nasal MRSA carriage rate among DHCP s is 2.9%, which is higher than that in the general population but lower than that in other health‐care professionals. Further education of DHCP s on MRSA , especially regarding its seriousness, is needed to improve MRSA infection control in a dental hospital setting.