Methicillin resistant staphylococcus aureus (patient information)

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Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
Overview
What are the symptoms?
What are the causes?
Who is at highest risk?
When to seek urgent medical care?
Diagnosis
Treatment options
Where to find medical care for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus?
What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?
Possible complications
Prevention
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]

Overview

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type (strain) of staph bacteria that does not respond to some antibiotics that are commonly used to treat staph infections.

What are the symptoms of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus?

Staph skin infections cause a red, swollen, and painful area on the skin. There may be drainage of pus or other fluids from the site. Symptoms are more likely to occur where the skin has been cut or rubbed, or in areas where there is more body hair. When patients get MRSA in health care facilities, the infections tend to be severe. These staph infections may be in the bloodstream, heart or lungs, urine, or at the site of a recent surgery. Symptoms of these severe infections include:

• Chest pain
• Chills
• Cough
• Fatigue
• Fever
• General ill feeling (malaise)
• Headache
• Muscle aches
• Rash
• Shortness of breath

What causes Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus?

Staph. aureus is a common type of bacteria. In about 1 out of every 4 healthy people, the staph germ lives on the skin or in the nasal passages, but it does not cause any problems or infections. These people are said to be colonized with staph. If the staph bacteria enter a person's body through a cut, sore, catheter, or breathing tube, it may cause an infection.

• The infection can be minor and local (for example, a pimple), or more serious (involving the heart, lungs, blood, or bone).
• Serious staph infections are more common in people with a weak immune system. This includes patients in hospitals and long-term care facilities and people who are receiving kidney dialysis or cancer treatment. In the past, most staph infections responded to a gorup of antibiotics called beta-lactams. These antibiotics include methicillin and other, more common antibiotics such as oxacillin, penicillin, and amoxicillin. About 2 out of every 100 people carry a strain of staph that is resistant to these antibiotics. Being resistant means an antibiotic is unable to treat and cure an infection with this type of bacteria. This strain of staph is called MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Who is at highest risk?

MRSA infections often occur in people who are in the hospital or other health care setting. Those who have been hospitalized or had surgery within the past year are also at increased risk. MRSA bacteria are causing a higher number of the staph infections that begin in the hospital. MRSA infections that occur in the community are seen in otherwise healthy people who have not recently been in the hospital. Most of these infections involve the skin.

• The infections have occurred among athletes who share equipment or personal items (such as towels or razors) and children in day care facilities.
• Members of the military and those who get tattoos are also at risk. The number of community-acquired MRSA cases is increasing.

Diagnosis

Depending on your symptoms, your doctor may recommend the following tests to detect and confirm the bacteria causing the infection:

• Blood culture
• Culture from the infected site
• Gram stain and culture of the drainage (fluid) from the infection
• Sputum culture
• Urine culture

Treatment options

Draining the skin infection may be the only treatment needed for a local skin MRSA infection. This procedure should be done at the doctor's office. Do not try to pop open or drain the infection yourself. Keep any sore or wound covered. If you are given antibiotics, be sure to take all the doses, even if you feel better. Not finishing the full course of antibiotics can allow an infection that seemed to be gone to come back (relapse). More serious MRSA infections are becoming harder to treat. Your doctor will follow guidelines about which antibiotics should be used. Other treatments may be needed for more serious infections. If you are not already in the hospital, you may be admitted. Treatment may involve:

• Fluids and medications given through a vein
• Kidney dialysis (if kidney failure occurs)
• Oxygen

Where to find medical care for Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus?

Directions to Hospitals Treating Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus

What to expect (Outlook/Prognosis)?

How well a person does depends on the severity of the infection and their overall health. MRSA-related pneumonia and blood infections are associated with high death rates.

Possible complications

MRSA-related pneumonia and blood infections are associated with high death rates.