Reusable venesection tourniquets: a potential source of hospital transmission of multiresistant organisms.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of multiresistant organism (MRO) colonisation of reusable venesection tourniquets.

Design And Setting: A prospective study in a tertiary hospital to collect and analyse reusable venesection tourniquets for the presence of MROs - methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), and extended-spectrum β-lactamase and metallo-β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae - using a sensitive enrichment method. Tourniquets were collected and tested during a 10-week period between September and November 2010.