Numbers of MRSA colonisations detected at different anatomical sites and combinations of two and three sites
| Anatomical site | No. of patients MRSA detected (total = 925) | Sensitivity (%) of detection (95% CI) |
|---|---|---|
| Single-site | ||
| Nose | 467 | 50.5% (47.3–53.7) |
| Throat | 444 | 48% (44.8–51.2) |
| Groin | 408 | 44.2% (40.9–47.3) |
| Perineum | 365 | 39.5% (36.3–42.6) |
| Umbilicus | 214 | 23.1% (20.4–25.9) |
| Axilla | 171 | 18.5% (16–21) |
| Hairline | 167 | 18% (15.6–20.5) |
| Two-site | ||
| Groin + throat | 689 | 74.5% (71.7–77.3) |
| Groin + nose | 667 | 72.1% (69.2–75) |
| Nose + perineum | 664 | 71.8% (68.9–74.7) |
| Nose + throat | 662 | 71.6% (68.7–74.5) |
| Perineum + throat | 582 | 63% (59.8–66) |
| Throat + umbilicus | 553 | 59.8% (56.6–62.9) |
| Nose + umbilicus | 549 | 59.35% (56.2–62.5) |
| Axilla + nose | 524 | 56.6% (53.5–59.8) |
| Axilla + throat | 521 | 56.3% (53.1–59.5) |
| Groin + perineum | 518 | 56% (52.8–59.2) |
| Hairline + throat | 513 | 55.46% (52.3–58.7) |
| Hairline + nose | 501 | 54.1% (51–57.4) |
| Groin + umbilicus | 482 | 52.1% (48.9–55.3) |
| Groin + hairline | 476 | 51.45% (48.2–54.7) |
| Axilla + groin | 457 | 49.4% (46.2–52.6) |
| Perineum + umbilicus | 455 | 49.2% (46–52.4) |
| Axilla + perineum | 435 | 47% (43.8–50.2) |
| Hairline + perineum | 432 | 46.7% (43.5–49.9) |
| Axilla + umbilicus | 300 | 32.4% (29.4–35.4) |
| Hairline + umbilicus | 293 | 31.7% (28.7–34.7) |
| Axilla + hairline | 267 | 28.8% (25.9–31.8) |
| Three-site | ||
| Groin + nose + throat | 850 | 92% (90.1–93.6) |
| Nose + perineum + throat | 840 | 91% (88.9–92.7) |
| Groin + perineum + throat | 783 | 84.6% (82.3–87) |
| Groin + nose + perineum | 769 | 83.1% (80.7–85.5) |
| Groin + throat + umbilicus | 752 | 81.3% (78.8–83.8) |
| Nose + throat + umbilicus | 742 | 80.2% (77.6–82.8) |
| Axilla + groin + throat | 732 | 79.1% (76.5–81.7) |
| Groin + hairline + throat | 726 | 78.5% (75.8–81.1) |
| Groin + nose + umbilicus | 724 | 78.3% (75.6–81) |
| Perineum + throat + umbilicus | 720 | 77.8% (75.2–80.5) |
| Nose + perineum + umbilicus | 719 | 77.7% (75–80.4) |
| Axilla + nose + throat | 717 | 77.5% (74.8–80.2) |
| Groin + hairline + nose | 708 | 76.5% (73.8–79.3) |
| Hairline+ perineum + throat | 706 | 76.3% (73.6–79) |
| Axilla + perineum +throat | 703 | 76% (73.2–78.7) |
| Hairline + nose + perineum | 698 | 75.5% (72.7–78.2) |
| Axilla + nose + perineum | 694 | 75% (72.2–77.8) |
| Axilla + groin + nose | 693 | 74.9% (72.1–77.7) |
| Hairline + nose + throat | 690 | 74.6% (71.8–77.4) |
| Axilla + nose + umbilicus | 604 | 65.3% (62.2–68.4) |
| Axilla + throat + umbilicus | 597 | 64.5% (61.5–67.6) |
| Hairline + throat + umbilicus | 596 | 64.4% (61.3–67.5) |
| Groin + perineum + umbilicus | 583 | 63% (59.9–66.1) |
| Groin + hairline + perineum | 582 | 62.9% (59.8–66) |
| Axilla + hairline + throat | 581 | 62.8% (59.7–65.9) |
| Hairline + nose + umbilicus | 581 | 62.8% (59.7–65.9) |
| Axilla + groin + perineum | 577 | 62.4% (59.2–65.5) |
| Groin + hairline + umbilicus | 543 | 58.7% (55.5–61.9) |
| Axilla + hairline + nose | 535 | 57.8% (54.6–61) |
| Axilla + groin + umbilicus | 534 | 57.7% (54.5–60.9) |
| Axilla + groin + hairline | 522 | 56.4% (53.2–59.6) |
| Axilla + perineum + umbilicus | 516 | 55.8% (52.6–59) |
| Hairline + perineum + umbilicus | 506 | 54.7% (51.5–57.9) |
| Axilla + hairline + perineum | 481 | 52% (48.8–55.2) |
| Axilla + hairline + umbilicus | 367 | 39.6% (36.5–42.8) |
There were 925 patients found to be colonised with MRSA in total using the seven-site body screen gold standard.
CI, confidence interval; MRSA, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.