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Medical AI Inquiry: You was designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.  Labels: OBJECTIVE, METHODS, RESULTS. Meshes: Ambulances, Cross-Sectional Studies, Emergency Medical Services, Humans, Methicillin Resistance, Staphylococcus aureus, United States.
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Can methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus be found in an ambulance fleet? Context: To perform an initial screening study of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) contamination in an ambulance fleet. This was a cross-sectional study of MRSA contamination in an ambulance fleet operating in the western United States in June 2006. Five specific areas within each of 21 ambulances (n = 105) were tested for MRSA contamination using dacron swabs moistened with a 0.85% sterile saline solution. These samples were then plated onto a screening media of mannitol salt agar containing 6.5% NaCl and 4 mcg/mL oxacillin. Thirteen samples isolated from 10 of the 21 ambulances (47.6%) in the sample group tested positive for MRSA.
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The results of this preliminary study suggest that ambulances operating in the emergency medical services (EMS) system may have a significant degree of MRSA contamination and may represent an important reservoir in the transmission of potentially serious infections to patients.