BackgroundMethicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is an important nosocomial pathogen but little is known about its circulation in hospitals in developing countries. We aimed to describe carriage of S.aureus amongst inpatients in a mid-sized Kenyan government hospital.MethodsWe determined the frequency of S.aureus and MRSA carriage amongst inpatients in Thika Hospital, Kenya by means of repeated cross-sectional ward surveys. For all S.aureus isolates, we performed antibiotic susceptibility tests, genomic profiling using a DNA microarray and spa typing and MLST.ResultsIn this typical mid-sized Kenyan Government hospital, we performed 950 screens for current carriage of S.aureus amongst inpatients over a four month period. We detected S.aureus carriage (either MSSA or MRSA) in 8.9% (85/950; 95%CI 7.1-10.8) of inpatient screens, but patients with multiple screens were more likely have detection of carriage. MRSA carriage was rare amongst S.aureus strains carried by hospital inpatients – only 7.0% (6/86; 95%CI 1.5-12.5%) of all isolates were MRSA. Most MRSA (5/6) were obtained from burns patients with prolonged admissions, who only represented a small proportion of the inpatient population. All MRSA strains were of the same clone (MLST ST239; spa type t037) with concurrent resistance to multiple antibiotic classes. MSSA isolates were diverse and rarely expressed antibiotic resistance except against benzyl-penicillin and co-trimoxazole.ConclusionsAlthough carriage rates for S.aureus and the MRSA prevalence in this Kenyan hospital were both low, burns patient were identified as a high risk group for carriage. The high frequency of genetically indistinguishable isolates suggests that there was local transmission of both MRSA and MSSA.

SummaryBackgroundIn low-income countries, surgical site infections (SSIs) are a very frequent form of hospital-acquired infection. Surveillance is an important method for controlling SSI but it is unclear how this can best be performed in low-income settings.AimTo examine the epidemiological characteristics of various components of an SSI surveillance programme in a single Kenyan hospital.MethodsThe study assessed the inter-observer consistency of the surgical wound class (SWC) and American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores using the kappa statistic. Post-discharge telephone calls were evaluated against an outpatient clinician review ‘gold standard’. The predictive value of components of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – National Healthcare Safety Network (CDC-NHNS) risk index was examined in patients having major obstetric or gynaecological surgery (O&G) between August 2010 and February 2011.FindingsAfter appropriate training, surgeons and anaesthetists were found to be consistent in their use of the SWC and ASA scores respectively. Telephone calls were found to have a sensitivity of 70% [95% confidence interval (CI): 47–87] and a specificity of 100% (95% CI: 95–100) for detection of post-discharge SSI in this setting. In 954 patients undergoing major O&G operations, the SWC score was the only parameter in the CDC-NHNS risk index model associated with the risk of SSI (odds ratio: 4.00; 95% CI: 1.21–13.2; P = 0.02).ConclusionsSurveillance for SSI can be conducted in a low-income hospital setting, although dedicated staff, intensive training and local modifications to surveillance methods are necessary. Surveillance for post-discharge SSI using telephone calls is imperfect but provides a practical alternative to clinic-based diagnosis. The SWC score was the only predictor of SSI risk in O&G surgery in this context.

IntroductionIn low-income countries, Surgical Site Infection (SSI) is a common form of hospital-acquired infection. Antibiotic prophylaxis is an effective method of preventing these infections, if given immediately before the start of surgery. Although several studies in Africa have compared pre-operative versus post-operative prophylaxis, there are no studies describing the implementation of policies to improve prescribing of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in African hospitals.MethodsWe conducted SSI surveillance at a typical Government hospital in Kenya over a 16 month period between August 2010 and December 2011, using standard definitions of SSI and the extent of contamination of surgical wounds. As an intervention, we developed a hospital policy that advised pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis and discouraged extended post-operative antibiotics use. We measured process, outcome and balancing effects of this intervention in using an interrupted time series design.ResultsFrom a starting point of near-exclusive post-operative antibiotic use, after policy introduction in February 2011 there was rapid adoption of the use of pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis (60% of operations at 1 week; 98% at 6 weeks) and a substantial decrease in the use of post-operative antibiotics (40% of operations at 1 week; 10% at 6 weeks) in Clean and Clean-Contaminated surgery. There was no immediate step-change in risk of SSI, but overall, there appeared to be a moderate reduction in the risk of superficial SSI across all levels of wound contamination. There were marked reductions in the costs associated with antibiotic use, the number of intravenous injections performed and nursing time spent administering these.ConclusionImplementation of a locally developed policy regarding surgical antibiotic prophylaxis is an achievable quality improvement target for hospitals in low-income countries, and can lead to substantial benefits for individual patients and the institution.

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Introduction:In low-income countries, Surgical Site Infection (SSI) is a common form of hospital-acquired infection. Antibiotic prophylaxis is an effective method of preventing these infections, if given immediately before the start of surgery. Although several studies in Africa have compared pre-operative versus post-operative prophylaxis, there are no studies describing the implementation of policies to improve prescribing of surgical antibiotic prophylaxis in African hospitals.Methods: We conducted SSI surveillance at a typical Government hospital in Kenya over a 16 month period between August 2010 and December 2011, using standard definitions of SSI and the extent of contamination of surgical wounds. As an intervention, we developed a hospital policy that advised pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis and discouraged extended post-operative antibiotics use. We measured process, outcome and balancing effects of this intervention in using an interrupted time series design.Results: From a starting point of near-exclusive post-operative antibiotic use, after policy introduction in February 2011 there was rapid adoption of the use of pre-operative antibiotic prophylaxis (60% of operations at 1 week; 98% at 6 weeks) and a substantial decrease in the use of post-operative antibiotics (40% of operations at 1 week; 10% at 6 weeks) in Clean and Clean-Contaminated surgery. There was no immediate step-change in risk of SSI, but overall, there appeared to be a moderate reduction in the risk of superficial SSI across all levels of wound contamination. There were marked reductions in the costs associated with antibiotic use, the number of intravenous injections performed and nursing time spent administering these. Conclusion:Implementation of a locally developed policy regarding surgical antibiotic prophylaxis is an achievable quality improvement target for hospitals in low-income countries, and can lead to substantial benefits for individual patients and the institution.