Fig. 1

Schematic of the study. In panel (a), the procedure is shown, with arrows representing actions and boxes representing an MRSA status. The asterisks indicate that the decolonization treatment could be repeated with a maximum of 3 treatments in total. Depending on the number of required decolonization treatments (1 to 3) the procedure was completed in 11 to 25 days. Panel (b) shows the inpatient control group and the IMM group. The treatment regime was the same for both, though the location of the patients differed