Role of Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Carriage in Uremic Pruritus and Infection in Hemodialysis Patients.

Summary: Many patients on kidney dialysis suffer from terrible, itchy skin, a condition known as uremic pruritus. Doctors wanted to know if carrying a common bacteria called Staph (Staphylococcus aureus) in the nose might be to blame. They tested 100 dialysis patients and found that 24% had the bacteria hiding in their noses. The patients with the bacteria were much more likely to have severe itching than those without it. While a few patients later got sick from the bacteria, the link to full-blown infections wasn't perfectly clear yet. Still, this study suggests that getting rid of the bacteria in the nose might be a promising way to help stop the severe itching for dialysis patients.