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Patients who are carriers of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are at increased risk for subsequent MRSA infection after hospitalization. Investigators undertook a 3-year controlled trial to assess whether a post–hospital discharge decolonization regimen could decrease infection rates. Patients who had a positive culture for MRSA during or within 30 days before or after hospitalization at 17 California hospitals were randomized to have either hygiene education alone or education plus decolonization 5 days twice monthly, including daily bathing with 4% chlorhexidine, twice daily use of 0.12% chlorhexidine mouthwash, and twice daily application of 2% nasal mupirocin.
During 12 months of follow-up, 67 (6.3%) of 1058 decolonizat…