Prevalence of Staphylococcus spp. nasal colonization among doctors of podiatric medicine and associated risk factors in Spain

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of methicillin-susceptible and -resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA and MRSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis (MRSE) nasopharyngeal carriage among Doctors of Podiatric Medicine (Podiatrists) and to determine the potential risk factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2016–2017 among 239 podiatrists in Spain. The presence of MSSA, MRSA, and MRSE was determined by microbiological analysis of nasal exudate and antimicrobial susceptibility was determined. Each podiatrist completed a questionnaire. The questionnaire comprised various parameters such as sex, age, podiatry experience duration, underlying diseases, prior antibiotic treatment, hospitalization during the last year, and use of a protective mask, an aspiration system, or gloves. RESULTS: The prevalence of MSSA, MRSA, and MRSE was 23.0%, 1.3%, and 23.8%, respectively. The MSSA prevalence was higher among podiatrists who did not use an aspiration system (32.3%) compared to those who did (19.3%; p = 0.0305), and among podiatrists with respiratory diseases (36.8%) compared to those without (20.8%; p = 0.0272). The MRSE prevalence was higher among men (33.7%) compared to women (8.6%; p = 0.0089), podiatrists aged ≥50 (38.5%) compared to ≤35 (17.8%; p = 0.0101), and podiatrists with ≥15 (39.3%) compared to ≤5 years of podiatry experience (12.5%; p = 0.0015). Among the S. aureus strains, 84.5% were resistant to penicillin, 22.4% to erythromycin, 20.7% to clindamycin, and 12.7% to mupirocin. The MRSE strains were resistant to penicillin (93.0%), erythromycin (78.9%), and mupirocin (73.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of S. aureus and S. epidermidis nasal carriage is low among Spanish podiatrists compared to other health professionals. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13756-018-0318-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.