Methicillin resistance of S. aureus bloodstream infections: The data of 15 years Methicillin resistance of S. aureus infections

Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the annual changes in the frequency of methicillin resistance in the S. aureus strains isolated from blood cultures in our hospital and to find the resistance rate of S. aureus strains against other antimicrobial agents. Material and Methods: S. aureus strains isolated from blood cultures of the hospitalized children between 2004 and 2018 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients' age, gender, complex chronic conditions (CCC) and the number of positive S. aureus blood cultures were investigated. The study period, 15 years, was classified in 3 periods of 5 years. Results: Four hundred eleven blood cultures of 337 patients (157 girls. 180 boys) were positive for S. aureus. There were 100 MRSA (100/411.24%) bacteremia in total. Twenty-eight of them were community-acquired (CA-MRSA). One hundred thirty-five patients (%40) had CCC. MRSA bacteremia was significantly higher in patients with CCC compared to patients without CCC (35% to 11%). The highest MRSA rate was detected in the period 2014-2018 among all positive S. aureus blood cultures. Clindamycin, erythromycin, gentamicin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin resistance were higher in the MRSA group. Hospital-acquired MRSA strains have a statistically higher rate of clindamycin, erythromycin, gentamicin, and ciprofloxacin resistance than CA-MRSA strains. Discussion: The frequency of MRSA bacteremia has been Increasing in our center in recent years due to the spread in the number of patients with chronic conditions. More attention should be paid to rational antibiotic use in children with CCC.