METHICILLIN RESISTANT STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS:A STUDY IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

This study was carried out to find the frequency of Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a tertiary care hospital. This is a cross sectional descriptive study performed in Pathology Department, Nawaz Sharif Social Security Hospital, Multan Road, Lahore, during the period January, 2008 to December, 2008. Two hundred and thirty three consecutive, non- duplicate strains of Staphylococcus aureus were isolated from a variety of clinical specimens of pus/ pus swab, throat swab, sputum, urine, semen, ear swab, vaginal swab, blood, pleural fluid and cerebrospinal fluid were studied for Methicillin resistance. Standard methodology using modified Kirby-Baur disk diffusion method was adopted. Oxacillin (15g disk) was used to detect Methicillin resistance. An inhibition zone of less than 10mm was taken as indicative of MRSA. Out of 233 Staphylococcus aureus isolates, 81 (34.76%) were found to be Methicillin resistant. The yield of MRSA was highest from pus/ pus swab and sputum samples (40.0%), followed by throat swab (35.71%), urine, blood and pleural fluid (33.33%), semen (30.43%), vaginal swab (27.27%), ear swab (24.0%), and cerebrospinal fluid (20.0%). The high prevalence of MRSA in our setup should not go without serious concern. Implementation of strict aseptic techniques and suitable antimicrobial policy may reduce the spread of MRSA in our environment.