Vol. 6, Issue 7 (2017)

Background and Objective: Staphylococcus aureus, a leading cause of skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs), has developed resistance to several of the antibiotics that are now in use. One of the biggest problems in healthcare settings is the rise of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Finding out how common MRSA is and how antibiotic-resistant S. aureus strains are from SSTIs are the primary goals of this research.

Material and Methods: A tertiary care hospital was the setting for a prospective observational study that lasted for a full year. This study was conducted at the Department of Dermatology, Narayana Medical College, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh, India from June 2016 to May 2017. Seventy patients with confirmed SSTIs were included in the study. Cultures of Staphylococcus aureus were grown from aseptically obtained pus or wound swabs. We used conventional biochemical techniques for identification. In accordance with CLSI protocols, the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion assay was used to determine antibiotic susceptibility. Using cefoxitin (30 µg) disc diffusion, the presence of methicillin resistance was verified.

Results: S. aureus was detected in 52 out of 70 samples, or 74.3% of the total. Notably, 21 (40.4%) of these were determined to be MRSA. Penicillin and erythromycin showed high rates of resistance (88.5% and 63.5%, respectively), whereas clindamycin and doxycycline showed lower rates of resistance (28.8% and 23.1%, respectively). In every case, vancomycin and linezolid were effective against the isolates. Of the isolates tested, 6 (11.5%) showed evidence of inducible clindamycin resistance (D-test positive). The frequency of MRSA was higher in infections obtained in hospitals (61.9%) than in cases acquired in the community (23.8%).

Conclusion: The study underscores a notable incidence of MRSA among S. aureus isolates from SSTIs, especially in cases acquired in hospitals. Notwithstanding resistance to numerous antibiotics, vancomycin and linezolid continue to exhibit efficacy. Ongoing monitoring and judicious application of antibiotics are crucial to mitigate the proliferation of resistant strains.