No change in the distribution of types and antibiotic resistance in clinical Staphylococcus aureus isolates from orthopaedic patients during a period of 12 years

• Published in: European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases 2015-09, Vol.34 (9), p.1833-1837
• Main Authors: Aamot, H. V., Stavem, K., Skråmm, I.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Arthritis; Bacterial Typing Techniques; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Bone Diseases, Infectious - drug therapy; Bone Diseases, Infectious - microbiology; Bursitis; Child; Child, Preschool; Cohort Studies; Cross Infection - microbiology; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; Female; Hospitals; Humans; Internal Medicine; Joint Diseases - drug therapy; Joint Diseases - microbiology; Male; Medical Microbiology; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Middle Aged; Nosocomial infections; Orthopedic Procedures - adverse effects; Orthopedics; Patients; Penicillin; Prospective Studies; Staphylococcal Infections - drug therapy; Staphylococcal Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcal Protein A - genetics; Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus - classification; Staphylococcus aureus - drug effects; Staphylococcus aureus - isolation & purification; Staphylococcus infections; Surgical Wound Infection - drug therapy; Surgical Wound Infection - microbiology; Young Adult
• ISSN: 0934-9723; 1435-4373
• DOI: 10.1007/s10096-015-2420-z

Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ) is the most common cause of bone and joint infections. However, limited information is available on the distribution of S. aureus geno- and phenotypes causing orthopaedic infections. The aim of this study was to identify the dominating types causing infections in orthopaedic patients, investigate if the characteristics of these types changed over time and examine if different types were more often associated with surgical site infection (SSI) than primary infection (non-SSI). All clinical S. aureus isolates collected from orthopaedic patients from 2000 through 2011 at Akershus University Hospital, Norway, were characterised by S. aureus protein A ( spa ) typing and tested for antibiotic resistance. A total of 548 patients with orthopaedic S. aureus infections were included, of which 326 (59 %) had SSI and 222 (41 %) had non-SSI. The median age was 62 years [range 2–97 years] and 54 % were male. Among the 242 unique spa types, t084 was the most common (7 %). Penicillin resistance was identified in 75 % of the isolates, whereas the resistances to the other antibiotics tested were