Investigation the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus strain isolated from the foods of patients’ gavage samples and determination of their antibiotic resistance patterns in a military hospital in Tehran

Background and aims: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common foodborne pathogens, which is far more isolated from hospital foods and plays a key role in food poisoning. This study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus strain isolated from the foods of patients’ gavage samples and to determine their antibiotic resistance patterns in a military hospital in Tehran. Methods: Totally, 122 samples of gavage used in this study were formulated and collected in the special room under the supervision of nutrition and diet experts every three hours. To determine the prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus, the gavage samples were evaluated in the pathobiology laboratory of the hospital using microbial culture and biochemical tests. Then, the method of disk placement in Müller-Hinton agar medium was used to evaluate antibiotic resistance pattern of the isolated microorganisms. Results: Among the 122 samples, 20 (16.39%.) were infected by Staphylococcus aureus. The isolated microorganisms were resistant to bacitracin (100%), coamoxiclav (60%), cefoxitin (45%), ampicillin (35%), erythromycin (20%), amikacin (20%), and tetracycline (15%), respectively. Conclusion:The results of this study represent the contamination of the gavage samples in this medical center with Staphylococcus aureus strains as well as the presence of antibiotic resistance in the isolated microorganisms, which can be considered as a threat to the health of patients admitted to the special care department.