Methicillin-Resistant<i>Staphylococcus aureus</i>at Boston City Hospital

TLDR

Twenty‑two MRSA isolates from 18 patients were phage‑nontypable, methicillin‑resistant to other penicillins and cephalosporins, and resembled previously reported strains. The isolates were recovered from 7 of 42 wards, with 15 of 18 infections acquired in‑hospital, including 13 sputum isolates from 12 patients with pulmonary superinfection, 4 urinary isolates from 2 catheter‑associated UTI patients, and evidence of patient‑to‑patient spread during a ward outbreak involving four cases and a nurse carrier.

Abstract

Twenty-two isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus were obtained from 18 patients; 21 of the strains were phage nontypable, exhibited methicillin resistance to other penicillins and cephalosporins tested, and had characteristics similar to those of previously reported methicillin-resistant strains. These staphylococci were isolated from patients on seven of the 42 hospital wards. Fifteen of the 18 patients acquired their infection in the hospital. Thirteen of the 22 isolates were from the sputum of 12 patients with pulmonary superinfection, and four from the urine of two patients with catheter-associated urinary-tract infections. Evidence of patient-to-patient spread of infection was found during a ward outbreak involving four clinical cases and a nurse who was a nasopharyngeal carrier.