The Effect of Local Antibiotic on Nasal Carriage of Staphylococcus Pyogenes

Abstract

SummaryLanoline-water cream containing 1% of antibiotic was applied for 7–14 days to the anterior nares of 124 carriers of antibiotic sensitive staphylococci. Nose swab cultures, examined during the administration of the cream, were negative for Staph. pyogenes in all carriers who received oxytetracycline, and in 80, 75, 70 and 67% of those who received penicillin, chlortetracycline, streptomycin and chloramphenicol respectively.Seventy per cent of carriers gave nose-swab cultures negative for at least 2 weeks, 50% for at least 4 weeks and 25% for at least 20 weeks after the cessation of treatment. Over the same period only 1% of a control group ceased to be carriers.The nares of 20% of carriers receiving antibiotic were temporarily colonized with antibiotic-resistant strains, but in only one case (0·8%) did the resistant organism persist throughout the period of examination.The use of this method of controlling staphylococcal carriage in preventing staphylococcal infection is discussed.I wish to thank Prof. T. J. Mackie for his advice.