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OBJECTIVE: How to eradicate methicillin-resistantStaphylo-coccus aureus(MRSA) colonization in hospitalized patients is uncertain. We reviewed our experience with MRSA decolonization therapy in hospitalized patients.SETTING: An 1100-bed, university-affiliated tertiary care teaching hospital in Toronto, Ontario.DESIGN: Retrospective chart review of 207 adult inpatients with MRSA colonization hospitalized between February 1996 and March 1999.INTERVENTIONS: All patients with MRSA colonization were assessed for possible decolonization therapy with a combination of 4% chlorhexidine soap for bathing and washing, 2% mupirocin ointment applied to the anterior nares three times/day, rifampin (300 mg twice daily) and either trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (160 mg/800 mg twice daily) or doxycycline (100 mg twice daily). This treatment was given for seven days.RESULTS: A total of 207 hospitalized patients with MRSA colonization were identified and 103 (50%) received decolonization therapy. Patients who received decolonization therapy were less likely than untreated patientsto have intravenous (P=0.004) or urinary catheters (PCONCLUSIONS: Combined topical and oral antimicrobial therapy was found to be effective in eradicating MRSA colonization in selected hospitalized patients, especially those without indwelling medical devices or extranasal sites of colonization.