Stop Community MRSA Colonization Among Patients
Condition: MRSA
Intervention: Chlorhexidine gluconate soap; Chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse; Mupirocin calcium 2 % ointment
Intervention description: 4% chlorhexidine gluconate (soap); chlorhexidine gluconate oral rinse 0.12%; nasal mupirocin calcium 2% ointment
Intervention MeSH terms: Chlorhexidine; Chlorhexidine gluconate; Mupirocin; Calcium
Phase: Phase 4
Study type: Interventional
Primary purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Enrollment: 77.0
Sex: All
Minimum age: 6 Months
Healthy volunteers: No
Keywords: MRSA; colonization; decolonization

Summary:

      This research is being done to learn more about an approach to remove Methicillin resistant
      Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in patients who are carriers of the bacteria in outpatient
      settings and among their household members and sexual partners.

      MRSA is a type of bacteria or germ that can cause bad infections of the skin that can make
      people very sick. The bacteria have been seen in a high number of persons in the Baltimore
      area and in hospitals throughout the country. MRSA can be spread from person to person,
      particularly in homes and among family members and sexual partners.

      There are three things the investigators hope to learn from this research study:

      First, the investigators want to find a way to prevent MRSA infections in outpatient
      settings. By asking questions, the investigators want to look at the things that may increase
      the risk of having this type of bacteria in you and your family members.

      Second, the investigators have soaps and oral rinses (Chlorhexidine) and medications
      (antibiotics; Mupirocin ointment) that have been shown to be effective at removing MRSA. The
      investigators want to determine if these antibiotics and soaps are best used for everyone in
      the household or only the individual with known MRSA.

      Third, as the investigators, we want to learn more about the bacteria by looking at it on the
      inside. The investigators will do laboratory tests on samples we collect, to learn how MRSA
      bacteria grow, reproduce and how it develops to behave differently than other types of MRSA
      bacteria.
    

Eligibility criteria:

        Inclusion Criteria:

          -  Individuals, 21 years of age and older, of all racial and ethnic groups, receiving
             care within the Johns Hopkins University AIDS Service who have a prior history of MRSA
             colonization are eligible to participate as the index HIV positive subject

          -  have at least two members in the household and/or a sexual partner

          -  subjects must be willing to be randomized to either arm of the study, including
             randomization to household and/or sexual partner evaluation that includes home visits

          -  Sexual partners and/or household members will also be required to provide informed
             consent

          -  Subjects and their contacts must have no documented or reported allergies to any agent
             used in the standardized decolonization regimen

          -  Parental assent will be required for household members less than 7 years of age

        Exclusion Criteria:

          -  individuals who live alone and have no active sexual partners

          -  allergy to any component of decolonization protocol

          -  individuals who are unable to provide written informed consent