Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in trauma and orthopaedic practice.

©2005 British Editorial Society of Bone and Joint Surgery doi:10.1302/0301-620X.87B6. 16292 $2.00 J Bone Joint Surg [Br] 2005;87-B:749-54. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been an increasing problem since its isolation in England in 1961. 1 The publicity surrounding MRSA, and nosocomial infection in general, has never been greater. The introduction by the Department of Health in the United Kingdom of mandatory surveillance schemes for both MRSA bacteraemia and surgical site infection (SSI) in orthopaedic surgery from 2001 and 2004, respectively, highlights the importance of nosocomial infection. 2 Our aim is to examine the rising problem of infection with MRSA and its associated economic implications. Current practice in the UK combined with a literature review have been undertaken in order to provide further suggestions for the lowering of rates of infection particularly from the perspective of orthopaedics and trauma.