Are MRSA Antibiotics Overprescribed for Community-Acquired Pneumonia?

Nearly 30% of hospitalized CAP patients received antibiotics for MRSA, even though fewer than 1% had MRSA-associated CAP.

Recent reports suggest that Staphylococcus aureus and, particularly, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) seldom cause community-acquired pneumonia (CAP). However, many clinicians empirically treat CAP with the anti-MRSA antibiotics vancomycin and linezolid because of concerns about MRSA.

To better define the incidence and clinical presentation of MRSA-associated CAP, investigators conducted a CDC-funded, multicenter, prospective, active-surveillance study of patients hospitalized with CAP in Illinois and Tennessee between 2010 and 2012. Diagnoses were based on bacterial tests of blood and high-quality sputum samples, urinary antigen tests, and nucleic acid amplification tests of oropharyngeal swabs. S. aureus CAP was defined as detection …

Reviewing Author

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Neil M. Ampel, MD

Disclosures

Editorial BoardsUpToDate

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesCoccidioidomycosis Study Group (Past President, Secretary, Treasurer)

Are MRSA Antibiotics Overprescribed for Community-Acquired Pneumonia?

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Reviewing Author