MRSA: RATES, TRENDS AND INFECTION PREVENTION & CONTROL PRACTICES

• Published in: International journal of infectious diseases Vol. 134; p. S22
• Main Authors: Shaari, S.A., Bakar, N.A. Abu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 01.08.2023
• ISSN: 1201-9712
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijid.2023.07.023

Intro: Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) rates and trends are closely linked with infection prevention and control (IPC) practices. Methods: We analysed S. aureus susceptibility pattern in Hospital UiTM from 2017 to 2021. Susceptibility results for MRSA isolated from all of clinical specimen, except screening specimen, were included. Hospital MRSA rates and trends were then compared with that of national ones, published in National Surveillance Antibiotic Resistant (NSAR) reports. Findings: Overall, 503 S. aureus susceptibility results were included in the analysis. Number of S. aureus isolated per year ranges between 75 to 110. In 2017, 28% of S. aureus isolated were MRSAs. The rate increased slightly to 29% in 2018 and then increased further to 32% in the following year of 2019. However, the increasing trend appeared to reverse in the following years, recording a decreased rate of 25% in 2020 and a further massive decrease to 19% in 2021. All MRSAs isolated during the 5-year period of analysis were susceptible to vancomycin, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of <2mg/L. As expected, the vast majority of MRSAs were nosocomially acquired, from patients aged 60 or above. The hospital's MRSA rates for 2017 to 2020 were consistently higher than that of national's MRSA rates in comparison. Conclusion: Annual MRSA rates of our newly established hospital, from 2017 until 2021, is higher than that of national rates. However, a declining trend in last 2 years to an almost comparable rate in 2021 suggests that there was improvement in IPC practices among healthcare workers, as time goes by. In addition, this positive change may possibly be facilitated by the awareness raised during COVID-19 pandemic.