Abstract
Two hundred and seven patients with RA and 37 healthy controls were prospectively included in a cross-sectional study. A nasal secretion sample was collected by swab from both anterior nostrils and was referred to the hospital's microbiology department for culturing. The mean age of the patients (168 women, 78%) was 61 ± 12 years old. The mean disease duration was 13 ± 10 years. Seventy-six percent of the patients were positive for Rheumatoid Factor (RF), and 71% were positive for Anti-citrullinated Peptides Antibodies (ACPA). Seventy percent had joint erosions. The mean DAS28 was 3.1 ± 2.2. S. aureus nasal colonization was found in 36% of the RA patients and 35% of the controls. Three patients and no controls were resistant to oxacilin/ mupirocin. The patients who were positive for ACPA had a higher prevalence of S. aureus colonization (43% vs. 17%; p < 0.05). The colonization prevalence in the patients treated with glucocorticoids was 32% (n: 133); methotrexate and/or leflunomide, 37% (n: 167); anti-TNF agents, 46% (n: 54), p < 0.05 versus patients not treated with anti-TNF agents; rituximab, 22% (n: 18); tocilizumab, 39% (n: 18). The prevalence of S. aureus nasal colonization in patients with RA does not appear to be greater than that of the general population. Anti-TNF agents might confer a higher prevalence of colonization.
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