Visitor restriction during the COVID-19 pandemic did not impact rates of Staphylococcus aureus colonization in the NICU patients

Abstract

Abstract Objectives In our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), patients are screened for colonization with Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and decolonized if positive. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our NICU significantly limited its visitor policy. We assessed for a difference between S. aureus colonization rates before and after the visitor policy change, which coincided with the exponential rise of COVID-19 cases in New York City (NYC). Methods We calculated rates of newly S. aureus colonized NICU patients during January to June 2020 and compared rates pre- and post-implementation of the new visitor policy. Additionally, we obtained the weekly incidence of COVID-19 in NYC and assessed for a correlation between COVID-19 rates and S. aureus colonization. Results The number of newly colonized patients per thousand patient days was 4.65 pre- and 3.95 post-implementation of the new visitor policy. The difference was not statistically significant (p=0.66). Furthermore, there was no correlation between the incidence of COVID-19 in NYC and the rates of S. aureus colonization in our NICU (R2=0.02). Conclusions Our results suggest that limiting visitation of patients is not associated with a decrease in S. aureus colonization rate. Hospital unit leaders may need to focus on other strategies in order to reduce colonization.