A prospective study to examine the epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Clostridium difficile contamination in the general environment of three community hospitals in southern Ontario, Canada

Table 6 Univariable logistic regression analysis of variables associated with MRSA contamination

Variable	Description	OR	95% CI	P-value
Hospital	A	Referent
	B	1.23	0.66-2.30	0.503
	C	1.54	0.83-2.85	0.169
Ward	Medicine	Referent
	Surgery	1.21	0.74-1.98	0.443
Surface material	Plastic	Referent
	Air	0.75	0.25-2.27	0.615
	Fabric	2.41	1.31-4.43	0.005
	Laminate	1.71	0.65-4.50	0.277
	Metal	1.38	0.61-3.13	0.446
	Other^a	1.65	0.58-4.66	0.346
Surface location	Public access	Referent
	Staff access	0.96	0.55-1.67	0.881
Type of surface	Computer keyboard	Referent
	Blood pressure machine	0.88	0.15-5.06	0.885
	Chair back	3.47	1.04-11.60	0.044
	Counter top	2.32	0.54-10.02	0.260
	Drug cart	2.32	0.54-10.02	0.260
	Elevator area^b	1.74	0.36-8.35	0.489
	Elevator panel	0.97	0.17-5.58	0.970
	Hand rail	3.50	0.95-12.93	0.060
	Isolation cart	3.02	0.75-12.23	0.121
	Isolation gown	1.53	0.26-9.00	0.640
	Linen	1.12	0.24-5.26	0.890
	Nursing station^b	0.60	0.06-5.69	0.660
	Other^c	1.96	0.58-6.57	0.276
	Patient chart	0.74	0.13-4.26	0.739
	Sofa	8.16	2.22-29.97	0.002
	Supply cart	2.07	0.34-12.47	0.426
	Telephone	0.73	0.08-6.87	0.779
C. difficile	Negative	Referent
	Positive	2.19	0.59-8.16	0.244

^a Includes: leather (n=2), mixed (n=19), and wood (n=17).
^b Air samples.
^c Surfaces include: antibacterial wipes container (n=10), brochure holder (n=3), bulletin board (n=11), chart holder (n=9), clip board (n=8), door knob (n=9), glove box holder (n=6), heating oven handle (n=7), lamp shade (n=3), lifter handle (n=3), sofa pillow (n=3), urine collection container (n=5), visiting room – air (n=3).

ISSN: 1471-2334