Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in dermatology outpatients with suspected bacterial infections in a university hospital in Beijing

Abstract

Conflict of interest: none declared. Methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has become the commonest pathogen identified in many communities worldwide. Recently, a high prevalence (17.6%) of MRSA in dermatology outpatients with bacterial skin infections was reported in France.1 Of patients with purulent skin infections in Hong Kong, 10.4% of S. aureus isolates were Panton–Valentine leucocidin‐positive MRSA strains.2 Although a high prevalence of MRSA (37.4%) in hospital‐acquired infections has been found in mainland China,3 the epidemiology of MRSA in dermatology outpatients in mainland China has not been reported. A search of both MEDLINE and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure, a full‐text database of Chinese scientific reports) for articles published from 1980 found no relevant publications. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of MRSA in dermatology outpatients in Beijing. The local ethics committee approved the study and oral consent was obtained from all patients. The types of bacteria in lesions of 104 outpatients (48 men, 56 women, median age 37 years, range 2–92) with suspected bacterial infections who attended the dermatology department of Peking University Third Hospital between April 2007 and October 2007 were investigated. None of the patients had any of the main MRSA risk factors (other than community living), such as frequent hospital consultations, hospitalization or antibiotic treatment.