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Updated: Aug 19, 2026

Subcutaneous Infection of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
Published on: February 9, 2011
[Postsurgery meningitis by Staphylococcus aureus: comparison between methicillin-sensitive and resistant strains]
Azucena Rodríguez Guardado1, José Antonio Maradona Hidalgo, Francisco Pérez González
1Unidad de Enfermedades Infecciosas, Hospital Central de Asturias, Oviedo, Spain. cuca22@inicia.es
Background And Objective:
In recent years, meningitis caused by methicillin-resistant S. aureus has increased. This study was undertaken to compare the clinical characteristics and prognosis of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) postneurosurgical meningitis and methicillin-sensible S. aureus (MSSA) postneurosurgical meningitis.
Patients And Methods:
Twenty-five episodes of postneurosurgical meningitis due to S. aureus (13 methicillin-resistant strains) seen during a ten-year period were retrospectively reviewed.
Results:
Most common underlying diseases were: intracerebral hemorrhage (50% of MRSA patients and 46% of MSSA patients) and neoplasm (53% of MRSA patients and 33% of MSSA patients). Eleven patients (6 of them with MRSA infection) had received antibiotic treatment previously. Thirteen patients were carriers of intraventricular catheters (8 with MRSA infection), 5 wore a ventriculoperitoneal shunt (4 with infections by MSSA), 5 cases had a CSF leakage (4 with infections by MRSA), and one patient with infection by MSSA wore an epidural catheter. Fifteen patients were cured (7 with MRSA infection), and 8 died due to the infection (27% with MSSA infection and 38% with MRSA infection).
Conclusions:
The prognosis of postneurosurgical meningitis by S. aureus does not depend on the presence of resistance to methicillin. Nowadays, the intravenous administration of vancomycin is the treatment of choice in MRSA meningitis.
Insights
The prognosis for Staphylococcus aureus meningitis after neurosurgery is similar for both methicillin-resistant (MRSA) and methicillin-susceptible (MSSA) strains. Vancomycin is the recommended treatment for MRSA meningitis.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Neurosurgery
- Microbiology
Context:
- Postneurosurgical meningitis is a serious complication.
- Increasing incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.
- Need to understand clinical differences between MRSA and MSSA meningitis.
Purpose:
- Compare clinical characteristics of MRSA vs. MSSA postneurosurgical meningitis.
- Evaluate and compare the prognosis of MRSA vs. MSSA postneurosurgical meningitis.
Summary:
- Retrospective review of 25 S. aureus meningitis cases post-neurosurgery.
- Identified common underlying conditions and risk factors (e.g., hemorrhage, neoplasms, catheters).
- Outcomes showed no significant difference in prognosis based on methicillin resistance; vancomycin is the treatment of choice for MRSA.
Impact:
- Informs clinical management of postneurosurgical meningitis.
- Highlights vancomycin as a key treatment for MRSA meningitis.
- Contributes to understanding outcomes in neurosurgical infection patients.
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