Methicillin-Resistant S. aureus Infections among Patients in the Emergency Department

The rapid emergence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) as a community pathogen threatens to change the practice of outpatient medicine. In this report, investigators from emergency departments in 11 cities throughout the United States show that S. aureus accounts for 76 percent of culturable skin and soft-tissue infections, of which 59 percent are MRSA. This report shows that S. aureus accounts for 76 percent of culturable skin and soft-tissue infections, of which 59 percent are MRSA. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) emerged in the 1960s as a cause of infection among patients exposed to the bacteria in health care settings. 1 More recently, MRSA infections have been reported among persons without such exposure (community-associated MRSA). 2 , 3 Community-associated outbreaks of MRSA infection have occurred among prisoners, intravenous-drug users, athletes, military trainees, and men who have sex with men. 4 – 6 Community-associated MRSA has primarily been described as a cause of skin and soft-tissue infections, but it has also been associated with sepsis and necrotizing pneumonia. 7 – 9 As compared with health care–associated MRSA isolates, community-associated MRSA isolates tend to be resistant . . .