Increase in Staph Pneumonia in Children Mainly Due to MSRA

From 2001 to 2009, MRSA accounted for 74 percent of cases of SA pneumonia in children

MONDAY, July 11 (HealthDay News) -- The number of Staphylococcus aureus (SA) pneumonia cases in children increased between August 2001 and April 2009, with methicillin-resistant SA (MRSA) responsible for 74 percent of the cases, according to a study published in the July issue of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

Maria A. Carrillo-Marquez, M.D., from the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, and colleagues assessed medical records from the Texas Children's Hospital to ascertain the rate of SA pneumonia infection and the SA isolates responsible, between August 2001 to April 2009. The clinical characteristics of the children with pneumonia were evaluated from medical records, and isolates were genotyped by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis.

The investigators identified 117 patients with SA pneumonia during the study period. The rate of SA pneumonia per 10,000 hospital admissions increased significantly, from 4.81 in the first year to 9.75 in the seventh year, with MRSA accounting for 74 percent of cases and methicillin-susceptible SA (MSSA) accounting for 26 percent. The USA300 genotype was found in 92 percent of the MRSA isolates and 50 percent of the MSSA isolates. Patients with MRSA were significantly younger than those with MSSA. Video-assisted thoracoscopy was performed significantly more for USA300 than non-USA300 infections. A total of 103 patients experienced an improvement or cure, with six requiring another visit or readmission with the same complaint, seven requiring respiratory sequelae, and one patient death.

"SA pneumonia increased in frequency over the study years and most were caused by community-acquired MRSA and USA300 isolates," the authors write.

One of the study authors disclosed a financial tie to Pfizer, which supported the study.

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