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Updated: Jun 25, 2026

Subcutaneous Infection of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA)
Published on: February 9, 2011
Mastitis and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA): the calm before the storm?
Elizabeth M Schoenfeld1, Mary Pat McKay
1Department of Emergency Medicine, George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
Background:
Post-partum mastitis is a common infection in breastfeeding women, with an incidence of 9.5-16% in recent literature. Over the past decade, community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a significant pathogen in soft-tissue infections presenting to the emergency department. The incidence of mastitis caused by MRSA is unknown at this time, but likely increasing.
Objectives:
We review the data on prevention and treatment of mastitis and address recent literature demonstrating increases in MRSA infections in the post-partum population and how we should change our practices in light of this emerging pathogen.
Case Report:
We present a case of simple mastitis in a health care worker who failed to improve until treated with antibiotics appropriate for a MRSA infection.
Conclusion:
Recent evidence suggests that just as MRSA has become the prominent pathogen in other soft-tissue infections, mastitis is now increasingly caused by this pathogen. Physicians caring for patients with mastitis need to be aware of this bacteriologic shift to treat appropriately.
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