Abstract
Purpose: :
To describe the prevalence of ocular infections caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and to compare the in vitro susceptibility profiles of methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and MRSA in patients with blepharitis, conjunctivitis, keratitis, endophthalmitis and subjects with no ocular complains.
Methods: :
Retrospective review of the microbiological records of the Laboratory of Ocular Microbiology of the Federal University of São Paulo (UNIFESP) from January, 2003 to December, 2009. Data of subjects with Endophthalmitis, Keratitis, Conjunctivitis, Blepharitis, and Normal subjects with no ocular complains were analyzed. The prevalence of MRSA in the different S. aureus ocular infections. MRSA was established based on resistance to either oxacillin or cefoxitin in vitro susceptibility to antibiotics commonly used to treat and/or prevent eye infections.
Results: :
During the seven years period, 732 exams confirmed S. aureus infection in different types of eye diseases and 50 exams were made to evaluate normal conjunctiva and eyelid flora in healthy individuals. The prevalence of MRSA among the different types of ocular infections were: blepharitis (5.96%), conjunctivitis (6.49%), keratitis (7.33%), and endophthalmitis (28.57%). Normal subjects did not present MRSA.
Conclusions: :
Our results show a trend of increasing prevalence of MRSA in S. aureus ocular infections. MRSA was more prevalent among S. aureus endophthalmitis cases than in the others eye diseases (keratitis, conjuctivitis and blepharitis). Resistance rates to others antimicrobial, including fourth-generation fluoroquinolones, was higher among MRSA compared to MSSA. No case of vancomycin resistance was documented.
Keywords: Staphylococcus • cornea: clinical science • keratitis