MRSA in the ED: Plus Ça Change . . .

In a study of more than 400 patients presenting with skin and soft-tissue infections, 59% of all isolates were MRSA.

Healthcare-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections are a long-standing problem to which emergency medicine practice has adapted. Community-acquired MRSA, virtually unknown in 2000, is now prevalent (JWEM May 11 2005), but our ability to adapt has been limited by a lack of good information. To define the extent of the problem and to help clarify the role of antibiotics, researchers enrolled 422 patients with abscesses (81%), infected wounds (11%), and cellulitis with purulent drainage (8%) during August 2004. They performed sophisticated bacteriologic analysis on culture specimens, determined patient characteristics, and observed antimicrobial treatment and patient outcomes.

Fifty-nine percent of all isolates …

Reviewing Author

J. Stephen Bohan, MD, MS, FACP, FACEP