Flora Infeksiyon Hastalıkları ve Klinik Mikrobiyoloji Dergisi (Mar 2024)

Antimicrobial Susceptibility Results and Characterization of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections Caused by Staphylococcus aureus in Children

  • Nurhayat YAKUT,
  • Zeynep ERGENÇ,
  • Sezin BAYRAKTAR,
  • İrem AKBOLAT,
  • Elvan SAYIN,
  • Arzu İLKİ,
  • Eda KEPENEKLİ

DOI
https://doi.org/10.5578/flora.202401868
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 29, no. 1
pp. 85 – 95

Abstract

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Introduction: Staphylococcus aureus is a major cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs). This study aimed to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility and clinical and epidemiological characteristics of community-acquired SSTIs caused by methicillin-susceptible and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MSSA-MRSA) in children. Materials and Methods: This was a retrospective, single-center study of pediatric SSTIs caused by S. aureus at a tertiary care hospital in Türkiye between January 2014 and November 2019. Results: Demographic, clinical, and microbiological data of 431 patients were examined during the study period. Overall, 333 (77.3%) isolates were MSSA, and 98 (22.7%) were MRSA. Antibiotic courses and hospital stays were significantly longer in patients with MRSA infection. The antimicrobial susceptibility patterns for 17 antibiotics were assessed in both MSSA and MRSA isolates. Penicillin resistance rate was 91%, while fosfomycin, gentamicin, mupirocin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and fusidic acid resistance rates were 1.2%, 3.2%, 2.7%, 4.2%, and 8.1%, respectively. All S. aureus isolates were susceptible to teicoplanin, vancomycin, linezolid, and tigecycline, and 335 (77%) isolates showed susceptibility to daptomycin. A statistically significant increase was detected in resistance of MSSA isolates to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in 2019 compared to 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2018 (p1= 0.029 (2014 vs. 2019); p2= 0.008 (2015 vs. 2019); p3= 0.019 (2016 vs. 2019); p4= 0.032 (2018 vs. 2019). Conclusion: S. aureus strains causing SSTIs showed a continued high prevalence of MSSA and multi-drug susceptibility. A striking result was the detection of increased resistance to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, which was frequently used in oral therapy against MSSA strains in 2019 compared to the other years. These results may provide guidance for clinical management of SSTIs in children.

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