ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to put forward the epidemiology of S. aureus infections in our hospital by comparing the infections developed with methicillinresistant S. aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) strains and to evaluate the effectiveness of current infection control policies. The study was designed as a retrospective case-control study. All patients developed S. aureus infections between 2003-2008 were studied and evaluated in two subgroups as MRSA and MSSA. Distribution of S. aureus infections by years, clinics and intensive care units, tables of infections, sources of infections and MRSA/S. aureus rates were assessed by comparing of both groups. In this study, both MRSA and MSSA cases were found most common in primary bloodstream and surgical site infections but burn infections and pneumonia were observed more frequent in MRSA cases versus MSSA (p<0.05). MRSA infections were most common in surgical (32.5%) and internal intensive care units (23.5%) when MSSA infections were most common in internal clinics (47.1%). MRSA/S. aureus rates were highest in Burn Center (97.5%), Neuro-Surgery (91.1%), General- Surgery (88.9%) Clinics when it was 82.6% in hospital-wide. MRSA/S. aureus rates rapidly decreased after 2003 (91.1% in 2003, 65.9% in 2008) (p<0.05). This reduction was connected to active work of Infection Control Committee and restriction of inappropriate antibiotic use since 2002.

Keywords: Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, MSSA, epidemiology