Prevalence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus in pyogenic community and hospital acquired skin and soft tissues infections.

OBJECTIVE To determine the percentage and frequency of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in community and hospital-acquired pyogenic skin and soft tissue infections. METHODS The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at the Dermatology Department of Combined Military Hospital, Abbottabad, from June 2009 to March 2010, and comprised 144 community-acquired and 54 hospital-acquired skin and soft tissue infections. Pus swabs from the infected lesions one from each individual were sent to laboratory for culture and sensitivity tests. Methicillin resistance was detected by 1 microg oxacillin disk. Organisms were labelled methicillin-resistant once the inhibition zone for oxocillin was less than 10 mm. Data analysis was done by using SPSS 20. RESULTS Of the 198 patients in the study, 98 (49.5%) were males and 100 (50.5%) were females, with an overall mean age of 33.7 +/- 14.81 44 years. There were 144 (72.72%) community-acquired infections and 54 (27.27%) had hospital-acquired infections. Community-acquired Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus numbered 40 (27.8%) and hospital-acquired ones numbered 26 (48.1%). CONCLUSION Prevalence of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in community and hospital-acquired pyogenic skin and soft tissue infections was high.