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Skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTIs) caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are increasingly common in outpatient settings. Patients with these infections might remain colonized with MRSA long after their initial infections resolve and be at elevated risk for recurrent infection. To prospectively examine duration of MRSA colonization, researchers followed 243 pediatric and adult patients with confirmed and treated MRSA SSTIs. Colonization was assessed with self-obtained swabs of nares, axilla, and groin from patients and all members of their households every 2 weeks for 6 months.
Overall, median duration of colonization was 21 days — far shorter than in previous studies. However, patients fell into two groups: 154 we…