A study published in Pediatrics examined the safety and efficacy of intranasal plus topical mupirocin use in eliminating Staphylococcus aureus colonization in the neonatal intensive care unit.
Researchers conducted the study between April 2014 and May 2016 at eight NICUs. Infants younger than two years old underwent serial screening for nasal Staphylococcus aureus. Those colonized with Staphylococcus aureus were randomly assigned to receive five days of mupirocin intranasally as well as applied to the periumbilical and perianal areas. Those receiving mupirocin were compared to those who did not.
A total of 155 infants were included in the study. Researchers found 93.9 percent of infants receiving mupirocin were decolonized by day eight as compared to 4.7 percent of the control infants.
"Application of mupirocin to multiple body sites was safe and efficacious in eradicating [Staphylococcus aureus] carriage among infants in the NICU; however, after two to three weeks, many infants who remained hospitalized became recolonized," study authors concluded.