Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections: 10-years' experience in a children's hospital in the city of Rosario, Argentina

Introduction: Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) infections are a common reason for consultation in pediatrics. Most of them present as skin and soft tissue infections; however, invasive infections have increased during the last decade. Objectives: The main objective was to describe the clinical-epidemiological characteristics of CA-MRSA infections. The secondary objective was to compare prevalence, clinical presentation and antibiotic susceptibility with a pre-study period (1/2004-12/2007). Material and methods: This is a descriptive, prospective, cross-sectional study. Inclusion criteria: children who have been diagnosed with CA-MRSA infection and admitted to Hospital de Ninos de Rosario between January 2008 and December 2014. Exclusion criteria: recent hospitalization, previous antibiotic treatment or surgery, comorbidities or immune compromise. Results: Out of 728 cases of children with Staphylococcus aureus infections, 529 (73%) were due to CA-MRSA. The incidence rate of CA-MRSA infections varied from 12.2/10 000 hospital discharges in 2004 to 145/10 000 in 2014: 75% (391) were skin and soft tissue infections; 8% (43) were osteoarticular infections; 6% (30), pleuropulmonary infections; 5% (24), sepsis. There was an increase in the number of invasive infections in the second period, with no statistical significance (OR=0.895; CI: 0.52-1.53). Gentamicin, clindamycin and erythromycin resistance remained stable throughout both periods. Conclusion: CA-MRSA infections were increasingly more frequent, mainly skin and soft tissue infections. An increase was observed in the number of invasive infections, with no statistical significance. Antibiotic resistance remained stable.