The early detection of Methicillin resistance along with its risk factors is of prime importance in the prognosis of S. aureus infections. The marked difference between the antibiogram of MRSA and MSSA isolates creates a difficult scenario in initiating treatment for S. aureus infections. The study aims to identify the risk factors and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of MRSA from pus samples. The present study was conducted at the Department of Microbiology, Kanyakumari Medical College from September 2015 to August 2016 from 100 non-duplicate S. aureus isolates from pus samples. The S. aureus isolates were confirmed by standard methods and methicillin resistance detected by Cefoxitin (30µg) disc. The antibiotic sensitivity pattern was interpreted as per CLSI guidelines. Among the 34 MRSA isolates, 25 were from males and 9 from females of which majority 9(36%) were from boys of ≤15 years of age. Among the risk factors associated with MRSA, surgery had accounted for and diabetes . Resistance to Erythromycin, Gentamicin and Ciprofloxacin was increasingly noted among MRSA isolates and all of them were sensitive to Vancomycin, Teicoplanin, Tigecycline and Linezolid. The early detection of Methicillin resistance among S. aureus together with timely and ideal antibiotic initiation helped by antibiotic sensitivity testing is the need of the hour, which limits the spread of MRSA infections in hospital setting. The role played by a clinical microbiologist in early detection of MRSA is very critical which helps to avoid multidrug resistance, in an era of very limited antibiotics. | Risk factors and antibiotic sensitivity pattern of Staphylococcus Aureus isolates from suppurative lesions at a Tertiary Care Hospital
