Prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a tertiary hospital in Nepal

• Published in: Public health action Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 46 - 51
• Main Authors: Pradhan, P., Rajbhandari, P., Nagaraja, S. B., Shrestha, P., Grigoryan, R., Satyanarayana, S., Davtyan, H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: France International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease 01.11.2021
• Subjects: Amr Supplement; antibiotic sensitivity pattern; Mrsa; Nepal; Prevalence; Treatment Outcome; prevalence; treatment outcome; antibiotic sensitivity pattern; Nepal; MRSA
• ISSN: 2220-8372; 2220-8372
• DOI: 10.5588/pha.21.0042

SETTING: Patan Hospital, Lalitpur, Nepal.OBJECTIVES: To describe 1) the prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and its antibiotic sensitivity pattern; 2) the demographic and clinical characteristics associated with MRSA infections; and 3) the treatment outcomes of in-patients with MRSA infection among patients with S. aureus infection between January 2018 and December 2020.DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional study using electronic and paper-based hospital records of patients with S. aureus infection.RESULTS: Of the 1,804 patients with S. aureus infection, 1,027 patients (57%, 95% CI 55-59) had MRSA. The MRSA were susceptible to vancomycin (100%), linezolid (96%), doxycycline (96%), chloramphenicol (86%) and cotrimoxazole (70%), and resistant to erythromycin (68%), clindamycin (56%), gentamycin (58%), ciprofloxacin (92%) and ofloxacin (91%). The prevalence of MRSA was higher in 2019, among out-patients, and in respiratory samples, and lower in blood samples. Of the 142 in-patients with MRSA, 93% had a successful clinical outcome (cured/improved).CONCLUSION: More than 50% of patients with S. aureus infection had MRSA that were resistant to commonly available antibiotics. This calls for strengthening surveil-lance and good infection control practices in this hospital.