TY - JOUR

T1 - A new device to prevent contamination of nasal swabs by Staphylococcus aureus in acute rhinosinutitis

AU - Kirkegaard Kiaer, E.

AU - Hakansson, K.

AU - Orntoft, S.

AU - Damkjaer Bartels, M.

AU - Krogh Johansen, H.

AU - Von Buchwald, C.

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Background: There is a risk of bacterial contamination of nasal swabs during passage of the narrow nasal vestibule in patientscarrying Staphylococcus aureus in their nares. We aimed to test if a newly developed contamination-free bacterial swab (CFS) device for swab introduction could reduce the risk of contamination with Staphylococcus aureus from the nasal vestibule in patientswith acute upper respiratory tract infections.Methodology: A single-blinded non-randomized controlled trial that included 64 participants with acute upper respiratory tractinfections. The left and right nasal cavities were swabbed using the present-day technique and the CFS device, respectively. Primary outcome was frequency of Staphylococcus aureus positive cultures; secondary outcome was growth of other bacteria.Results: We found a significantly higher frequency of Staphylococcus aureus in cultures taken with the present-day technique(23%) when compared to the new device (8%, p=0.008). Growth of other bacteria did not differ markedly between sample techniques.Conclusions: The newly developed device reduces contamination with Staphylococcus aureus significantly. It has the potential toincrease diagnostic accuracy in acute upper respiratory tract infections, decrease the overall use of antibiotics and thereby counteract overuse of antibiotics and emerging antibiotic resistance.

AB - Background: There is a risk of bacterial contamination of nasal swabs during passage of the narrow nasal vestibule in patientscarrying Staphylococcus aureus in their nares. We aimed to test if a newly developed contamination-free bacterial swab (CFS) device for swab introduction could reduce the risk of contamination with Staphylococcus aureus from the nasal vestibule in patientswith acute upper respiratory tract infections.Methodology: A single-blinded non-randomized controlled trial that included 64 participants with acute upper respiratory tractinfections. The left and right nasal cavities were swabbed using the present-day technique and the CFS device, respectively. Primary outcome was frequency of Staphylococcus aureus positive cultures; secondary outcome was growth of other bacteria.Results: We found a significantly higher frequency of Staphylococcus aureus in cultures taken with the present-day technique(23%) when compared to the new device (8%, p=0.008). Growth of other bacteria did not differ markedly between sample techniques.Conclusions: The newly developed device reduces contamination with Staphylococcus aureus significantly. It has the potential toincrease diagnostic accuracy in acute upper respiratory tract infections, decrease the overall use of antibiotics and thereby counteract overuse of antibiotics and emerging antibiotic resistance.

U2 - 10.4193/RHINOL/20.022

DO - 10.4193/RHINOL/20.022

M3 - Journal article

VL - 3

SP - 39

EP - 44

JO - Rhinology Online

JF - Rhinology Online

SN - 2589-5613

ER -