[Regional surveillance of the evolution of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): what results for what...

The aim of this study was to describe the evolution of MRSA within hospitals located in Franche-Comté from 1999 to 2003 and to establish the MRSA risk according to the type of hospitalization.

Surveillance of multidrug resistant bacteria was carried out according to the French national guidelines for the prevention of nosocomial infections.

The global incidence of MRSA colonized/infected patients (screened by clinical samples) per 1000 patient-days had decreased from 0.73 in 1999 to 0.58 in 2003 (P < 0.004). However, analyzing the results according to each type of hospitalization revealed great heterogeneity. In 2003, the increase of MRSA incidence in short-term public hospitalization was indeed alarming whereas MRSA risk had regularly decreased in the other hospitalization types (rehabilitation and long-term care-facilities) since 1999. The number of potentially serious colonizations/infections caused by MRSA (bacteremia, deep infections, and pulmonary infections) accounted for 12.8% of all colonizations/infections.

MRSA, in spite of improved prevention in our region, remains responsible for numerous infections.