The impact of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a neurosurgical unit: a growing problem

Abstract

Infection with MRSA is a growing problem in the neurosurgical population, and most cases are hospital-acquired and are associated with longer hospital stays. Asymptomatic colonization by this organism is far more common than infection of the surgical wound, although there is still morbidity due to MRSA sepsis. Most patients with MRSA are discharged before eradication of infection is achieved, thus increasing the risk that the infection will spread in the community. Strict adherence to the basic principles of infection control is the key to eradication of MRSA.

Outcome predictors and complications in the management of intradural spinal tumours

“…During this time the infecting organisms may have already caused irreversible neurological injury. The possibility of MRSA meningitis should be considered and balanced against the risks of starting more toxic antibiotics that are used for its treatment as MRSA is a growing problem in neurosurgical units [13].…”

Intestinal carriage of Staphylococcus aureus: how does its frequency compare with that of nasal carriage and what is its clinical impact?

“…Direct comparison of the distribution of intestinal carriers versus nasal carriers amongst MRSA-colonized patient groups could be deduced from 22 reports (Table 4) [9,10,13,18,19,[22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39]. Table 4 surveys the frequency of patients with intestinal carriage and nasal carriage expressed as a percentage of all MRSA-colonized patients found in the various studies.…”

Pharmacokinetics of Single-Dose Daptomycin in Patients with Suspected or Confirmed Neurological Infections

“…Typically, neurosurgical devices such as external and internal ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) drains may lead to infections in these patients. Multidrug-resistant Gram-positive organisms, particularly methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), are becoming increasingly problematic pathogens in patients with neurosurgical infections (17,22,25). Treatment of these infections poses challenges not only due to antimicrobial resistance but also due to the difficulty in achieving therapeutic concentrations at the site of infection primarily due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier (6,27).…”