A decade of antimicrobial resistance in Staphylococcus aureus: A single center experience

The emergence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) resulted in the recommended use of clindamycin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) for suspected S. aureus infections. The objective of this study was to determine the resistance to methicillin, clindamycin, and TMP-SMX in S. aureus isolates during a 10-year period.

Retrospective review of the antimicrobial susceptibilities of all S. aureus isolates in the outpatient and inpatient settings at Nationwide Children's Hospital from 1/1/2005 to 12/31/2014. Duplicate isolates from the same site and year and those obtained for MRSA surveillance or from patients with cystic fibrosis were excluded.

Of the 57,788 S. aureus isolates from 2005-2014, 40,795 (71%) were included. In the outpatient setting, methicillin resistance decreased from 54% to 44% (p<0.001) while among inpatient isolates, no significant change was observed. From 2009-2014, resistance to clindamycin among outpatient isolates increased from 16% to 17% (p = 0.002) but no significant trend was observed among inpatient isolates (18% to 22%). Similarly, TMP-SMX resistance increased in outpatient S. aureus isolates from 2005-2014 (0.9% to 4%, p<0.001) but not among inpatient isolates. Among both inpatient and outpatient isolates, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) exhibited higher resistance to both clindamycin and TMP-SMX than MRSA. In addition, resistance to methicillin, clindamycin and TMP-SMX varied widely according to the site of specimen collection.

In a decade where >40,000 S. aureus isolates were identified at a large pediatric hospital, substantial changes in methicillin, clindamycin, and TMP-SMX resistance occurred. These findings highlight the importance of ongoing surveillance of the local antimicrobial resistance in S. aureus in order to guide empiric antimicrobial therapy.