Studies on Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia Due to Laboratory Medical Analysis

We encountered 64 patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia between April 1993 and March 1994. Mean patient age was 54 years. There were 46 males and 18 females. Underlying diseases mainly consisted of traffic accident (10 patients), valvular heart disease (5 patients), chronic renal failure (5 patients), leukemia (5 patients), pneumonia (3 patients), and malignant lymphoma (3 patients). The common clinical laboratory findings of MRSA bacteremia included decreses in total protein, albumin and hemoglobin as well as increases in white blood cells (neutrophils) and C reactive protein. In particular, an increase in C reactive protein by 10 mg/dl or more may be useful for diagnosing bacteremia. Laboratory findings were compared between surviving and non-surviving patients. There were significant differences in albumin, cholesterol, bilirubin, creatinine, and CRP. In 18 patients (28.1%), bacteremia was caused by infection due to contamination of central venous catheters. Since medical treatment with intra-vascular devices may cause bacteremia, sufficient caution is needed.