Methicillin-resistant Information and Courses from MediaLab, Inc.

Perhaps the most efficient means for detecting methicillin-resistant staphylococci in clinical laboratories is the use of the agar dilution screening test. Illustrated in the image is a Mueller-Hinton agar plate containing 6 ug/mL of oxicillin, previously inoculated with a strain of Staphylococcus aureus. Oxacillin is used as a marker for methicillin resistance because it is more stable in the agar medium. Growth on this screening medium is presumptive for methicillin resistance. Thus, in the presence of growth, as shown here, a follow-up minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) test must be performed to determine the exact level of resistance.

Hershow RC. Khayr WF. Smith NL.: A comparison of clinical virulence of nosocomially acquired methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus infections in a university hospital (University of Illinois at Chicago). Infection Control & Hospital Epidemiology. 13(10):587-93, 1992 OBJECTIVES: To compare the clinical virulence of nosocomially acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) infections in 1989. DESIGN: A retrospective comparison of host factors, in-hospital exposures, sites of infections, and outcomes of patients with nosocomial MRSA and MSSA infections. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-four adult patients with nosocomial S.aureus infections. RESULTS: The 22 MRSA-infected and 22 MSSA-infected persons were similar regarding mean age, gender, underlying diseases, and exposure to surgery. Before developing infection, MRSA-infected persons were more likely to have received antibiotics and to have stayed in the hospital > 2 weeks. Bacteremia was the most common presentation in the MRSA and MSSA groups (55% and 59%, respectively). Infectious complications and death were infrequent in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: MRSA and MSSA strains infect patients with similar demographic features and underlying diseases, but MRSA infections are significantly more common among patients with previous antibiotic therapy and a prolonged preinfection hospital stay. Clinical presentations and outcomes did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. Thus, similar to studies in the early 1980s, our findings do not suggest greater intrinsic virulence of MRSA.

MRSA presents both clinical and infection control challenges. Because of the increasing incidence of MRSA strains, empiric treatment for serious staph infections is usually vancomycin in the hospital setting. Although PNA-FISH can identify Staphyloccocus aureus more rapidly, it cannot yet differentiate MRSA from methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) strains. Early differentiation of MRSA from non-MRSA strains could allow for adjustment from broad spectrum antimicrobial therapy, and reduced risk of development of resistance. Hospital acquired infections have garnered increasing attention from many quarters; MRSA is one of several drug resistant organisms that are of concern. Many institutions have implemented active surveillance culture (ASC) protocols to identify carriers of MRSA, both upon admission, and throughout the hospital stay. Identified carriers are placed under precaution protocols, to minimize risk of transmission to other patients during the hospital stay. MRSA status is also an important consideration for those patients who are being discharged to another facility (long term care or rehabilitation centers). Identifying carriers sooner rather than later can reduce the risk of transmission by earlier implementation of precaution protocols and reduce delays in discharge (and length of hospital stay) in situations where carrier status is needed prior to discharge. PCR methodologies offer the prospect of providing screening results 24 to 40 hours sooner than culture methodologies, depending on the culture medium employed.

Traditional culture methods for the detection and identification of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) employing mannitol salt and/or blood agar for cultivation, can take up to 72 hours for isolation and identification, depending on the identification procedures utilized. Concurrent with the development of molecular assays, improvements in culture methods have also been achieved. CHROmagar™ media, specific for MRSA, are employed by many laboratories. These media are both selective and differential, containing chromogenic substrates. MRSA strains utilize the substrates to produce colonies of a specific and characteristic color, minimizing the need for additional identification procedures.Initially these agars required 48 hours of incubation; newer formulations require only 24 hours incubation.Given the reduced incubation and identification requirements, what are the pros and cons of the molecular assays? Cost per test will be greater with the molecular assays as compared to culture methods. Will molecular methods provide for a more efficient workflow and significant improvement in availability of results? To some extent, this will depend on how they can be implemented within each different laboratory setting. Both of the previously described molecular assays require manual specimen preparation and extraction before the sample is placed into the instrument. This hands-on work may actually be greater than the effort expended in swabbing and streaking a culture plate. How much an obstacle this is for implementation will depend on both the volume of testing and the staff available. In a high volume setting, this will be a greater factor.Will tests be performed as specimens come in, or will specimens be accumulated and batched? If controls are required with each run, batching is desirable to reduce this cost. If testing will occur in batches, how many batches can be performed in one day? This will be heavily influenced by the capacity of the instrument. (For example, a single Smart Cycler unit can run up to 16 samples; multiple units would be needed in a high volume lab.) Can they be set up on more than one shift? The greater the number and frequency of batches that can be run, the greater improvement in turnaround time can be realized. Given these variables, implementation of a molecular assay for MRSA is not a given in each laboratory.

Over the last two decades, bacterial resistance to antibiotics has become widely recognized as a serious problem, making many diseases increasingly difficult if not impossible to treat. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been present in hospital settings (HA-MRSA) for several decades. More recently, MRSA strains have emerged outside the hospital, in community settings among otherwise healthy individuals. These strains are referred to as community associated-MRSA (CA-MRSA), and they now account for the majority of staphylococcal infections seen in the hospital emergency department or in clinics.

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is resistant to the beta-lactam antibiotics. The term methicillin-resistant is historically used to describe resistance to any of this class of antimicrobials even though methicillin is no longer the drug of choice. The acronym MRSA persists and is used interchangeably with ORSA – oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Oxacillin/methicillin resistance implies resistance to all penicillins, cephalosporins, monobactams, carbepenems and beta-lactam/beta-lactamase inhibitor combinations. S. aureus intrinsically produces beta lactamase enzymes that breakdown beta lactam antibiotics (i.e., penicillin); these are designated PBP 1 - 4. The beta-lactam resistance of MRSA is determined by the production of a novel penicillin binding protein called PBP 2' (PBP 2a), that has a reduced binding affinity for beta-lactam antibiotics. This allows MRSA strains to continue cell wall synthesis due to the uninhibited activity of PBP2' even in the presence of otherwise inhibitory concentrations of beta-lactam antibiotics.PBP2' is encoded by a mecA gene located on the MRSA chromosome and is widely distributed among Staphylococcus aureus as well as coagulase-negative staphylococci. The mecA gene is carried by a novel mobile genetic element, designated staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec – SCCmec that is integrated into the bacterial chromosome. The mecA gene is believed to have originated in some coagulase-negative staphylococcal strains and was then transferred into S. aureus, giving rise to MRSA. It is likely that SCCmec serves as the carrier of the mecA gene moving across staphylococcal spp. as these mecA genes have never been found without the presence of a SCCmec-like structure. Phylogenetic analyses of international collections of MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus isolates have revealed that methicillin resistance has arisen in five distinct lineages designated SCCmec I – V, which differ in both size and genetic composition. In recent years, the gene has continued to evolve so that many MRSA strains are currently resistant to several different antibiotics.