Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are leaving hospitals
Recently, bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics have been causing increasing difficulties in treating diseases in hospitals. However, in recent years, more and more resistant pathogens have been found in children who do not actually belong to the risk groups. Researchers at the University of Chicago Children's Hospital report in the February 25, 1998 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association that antibiotic-resistant strains of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus have infected children outside of a hospital setting. "This is the first published study to suggest that infections with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) variants, which are already resistant to many antibiotics, have now been found in non-chronically ill children outside of a hospital setting," said Robert SDaum, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Chicago and a co-author of the study. "This indicates a serious shift in the way the organism spreads through the population. More research focusing on how infections are transmitted in societies is needed."
The study retrospectively examined medical records of children hospitalized for MRSA. She compared children's cases from August 1988 to July 1990 with those that occurred from August 1993 to July 1995.
Of the eight children who became infected with MRSA within the first period outside of a hospital, none of the known risk factors could be proven as the cause of the infection in only one case. There is an increased risk of infection with frequent use of antibiotics, multiple surgical procedures, intubations, underlying chronic disorders, the presence of catheters and contact with a person in the same household who is exposed to these factors. In the later period, the infection with MRSA could no longer be attributed to one of the risks in 25 out of 35 children.
The researchers discovered interesting differences between MRSA infections acquired in hospital and those acquired in everyday life. While the bacteria from the hospital appeared to be resistant to many antibiotics at once, community-acquired MRSA infections were still susceptible to drugs other than methicillin. However, the researchers predict that this could change over time.
"This study should make physicians aware that we can also contract MRSA infections in the community, but it should not change their approach to treating the infection," said Betsy C. Herold, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Chicago and lead author of the study. "The usual antibiotics are still the best therapy for this type of infection."
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