Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)

The global problem of increasing trend in antimicrobial resistance is particularly pressing in the developing countries, where the methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is often the severe causal agent in hospital-acquired infections. There is now an increase in difficulties to treat such patients because of emergence of resistance to all current antibiotic classes. A significant increase in methicillin-resistant S. aureus in hospitals. However, regional differences in the epidemiological factors of MRSA appear to be significant. Rapid and reliable detection of MRSA is essential in order to secure the optimal treatment of patients with Staphylococcal infections, as well as for infection control procedures. In the present study S. aureus clinical isolates were collected from four hospitals. All confirmed S. aureus isolates were processed for antimicrobial susceptibility testing, performed by the modified Kirby-Bauer technique. The positive predictive values of the tests performed for the defining MRSA on MIC was higher than disc diffusion. It was concluded that oxacillin resistance on MIC was the more reliable than disc diffusion for defining MRSA isolates.