To study the correlation between carrier status of nasal Staphylococcus aureus in patients on haemodialysis with hepatitis C, hepatitis B and their sociodemographic features.

AIM To study the correlation of nasal Staphylococcus aureus carrier status in patients on haemodialysis, infected by hepatitis C virus (HCV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), and their sociodemographic features. SUBJECTS AND METHODS A survey, including patients' sociodemographic features, was applied to patients by physicians in face to face interviews. Medical records regarding their serologic data were recorded from haemodialysis centres. Nasal swab samples of 2 cm depth from both nostrils of patients were obtained for nasal culture. Samples were inoculated in 5% sheep blood agar and incubated in an incubator at a temperature of 37 degrees C for 24 hours. The results were studied by the same microbiologist. RESULTS A total of 185 patients were enrolled in the study. According to culture results, 14.1% of patients (n = 26) had methicillin sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and 1.1% (n = 2) had methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Status of viral hepatitis was 3.8% (n = 8), 10.8% (n = 20) for HBV and HCV respectively. Forty per cent (n = 8) of patients with HBV (+) had MSSA carrier status. Statistically significant positive correlation between MSSA and HCV carrier was detected (r = 0.325, p = 0.001) but not between HBV carrier and MSSA (p = 0.255). CONCLUSION In the present study, significant positivity was detected between MSSA carrier status and HCV in patients on haemodialysis and who have lived together with < or = 2 family members at home. Particularly, statistically significant correlation between HCV(+) and MSSA carrier was observed.