Prevalence of Nasal Carriage for Staphylococcus Aureus in Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria and Its Association with Disease Control Status

Introduction: Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is characterized by the appearance of urticaria for more than six weeks and no underlying condition is found. There is some evidence that chronic infections are more frequent among CSU patients. This study was  designed to compare the prevalence of nasal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus in urticaria patients and healthy control.   Materials and Methods: A population of ۶۰ CSU cases and ۳۰ healthy controls not working in a health-care-related environment were  recruited. Nasal swabs and cultures were  done for all individuals. The patients filled out Urticaria Control Test . S. aureus-positive CSU patients received treatment for their S. aureus colonization. Results: About ۲۶.۷% (n=۱۶) of CSU cases and ۶.۷%(n=۲) of healthy controls were nasal carriers of S. aureus, and the difference in the frequency was statistically significant (P = ۰.۰۲۵). Among S. aureus positive CSU patients ۸۱.۳% (n=۱۳)  and among  S. aureus negative patients ۸۴.۱% (n=۳۷)  had a poorly controlled disease.The difference between these two groups was not statistically significant (P = ۰.۹۹).  Conclusion: Nasal carriage of S. aureus is more frequent among CSU patients compared to healthy controls. However, being a carrier of S. aureus does not have a detrimental effect on the disease control status of CSU patients.

Keywords:

Chronic spontaneous urticaria , Nasal carriage , Staphylococcus aureus