[Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia seven years of survey in a French hospital]

In our French general hospital with 1000 hospitalization beds, a specific isolation for multiresistant bacteria colonized or infected patients was set up since 1998. To assess the impact of these recommendations, the rate of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteremia was calculated for each year since 1998. From 1998 to 2004, 493 cases of Staphylococcus aureus (SA) bacteremia occurred in our hospital: 319 strains were susceptible to methicillin and 174 were MRSA. During the 7 years period of our study, we observed a significant tendency for reduction in the number of bacteremia with MRSA strains (p=0.016). The significant decrease of the MRSA bacteremia between 1998 and 2004 was obtained through the cooperation between staff members, bacteriologists and hospital nosocomial infection committee members.