Skin pseudomonas aeruginosa and staphylococcus aureus as a function of time in hospitalized patients.

The work in this study was done to determine if the skin of hospitalized patients is a source of two pathogenic organisms which are known to cause nosocomial infections: Pseudomanas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureaus. Four selected skin sites from adult medical and surgical patients were cultured at intervals of 12 hours, 3 days, and 7 days after the patient's admission to the hospital, to determine the number of these organisms that were presence of these organisms in the patient's surroundings. Selective culture media were used to facilitate the isolation and identification of Pseudomanas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. This study showed that a higher percentage of patients carried Staphylococcus on their skin than Pseudomanas aeruginosa, and that the colony counts of Staphylococcus aureus were higher than those of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The patient's age, sex, diagnosis, or length of hospitalization did not alter these numbers. The type of soap used at home by the patients appeared to alter the number of these two organisms found on the skin, but because of the small sample size, no definite conclusions can be made from this study. The environmental sampling revealed very low numbers of both organisms in the areas sampled.