Abstract
Introduction: Data on the incidence of MRSA pneumonia in Europe are scarce.
Objective: To study the incidence of MRSA pneumonia and its related mortality.
Methods: Data from the OLV hospital, a 939-bed, university-affiliated teaching hospital in Belgium, were used. The study period ran from 2006 to 2009. All respiratory tract samples, positive for MRSA, were retrospectively collected from the automated microbiology database. As multiple samples per patient were available during follow-up, only the first MRSA respiratory tract sample was considered. Of all patients with MRSA positive respiratory tract samples, the complete medical records, including chest X-ray or chest CT scans were reviewed by a pulmonologist. Patients were defined to have pneumonia according to the ECDC criteria. Risk factors such as comorbidity and previous use of antibiotics were studied.
Results: During follow-up, 197 patients with a MRSA positive respiratory tract sample were identified. 46 of these 197 patients developed an MRSA pneumonia of which 30 had a nosocomial pneumonia. The overall incidence of MRSA pneumonia was 0.49/10000 patient days. 25 of the 46 MRSA pneumonia were detected at ICU. In patients with MRSA pneumonia, the mortality was high, 24 of the 46 patients (52%) died during follow-up versus 32% in patients with MRSA colonization of the respiratory tract was 32%. The mean time from admission to MRSA pneumonia was 13.6 days. 50% of patients with MRSA pneumonia were previously (during current hospital admission) treated with an antibiotic vs 32.5% in MRSA colonized patients.
Conclusion: The incidence of MRSA pneumonia is low but mortality in these patients is high. Previous use of antibiotics is one of the main risk factors of an MRSA pneumonia.
- © 2011 ERS
