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BACKGROUNDStaphylococcus aureus is a common cause of healthcare-associated infections in neonates.OBJECTIVETo examine the impact of methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) decolonization on the incidence of MSSA infection and to measure the prevalence of mupirocin resistance.METHODSWe retrospectively identified neonates admitted to a tertiary care neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) from April 1, 2011, through September 30, 2014. We compared rates of MSSA-positive cultures and infections before and after implementation of an active surveillance culture and decolonization intervention for MSSA-colonized neonates. We used 2 measurements to identify the primary outcome, NICU-attributable MSSA: (1) any culture sent during routine clinical care that grew MSSA and (2) any culture that grew MSSA and met criteria of the National Healthcare Safety Network’s healthcare-associated infection …