Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infection After Lung Transplantation: 5-year Review of Clinical and Molecular Epidemiology

Abstract

Data on the epidemiology of MRSA infection in lung transplantation is limited. We performed a 5-year retrospective study to assess the incidence and microbiologic and clinical characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection in a cohort of 163 lung transplant recipients. Seventeen patients with MRSA colonization and/or infection were identified, for a calculated incidence rate of 76.1 cases per 1,000 transplanted-years. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis identified 3 different distinct MRSA profiles, all of them consistent with hospital-associated MRSA infection. Despite negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the virulence factor Panton-Valentine leukocidin, MRSA infections resulted in significant disease and morbidity.