Influence of antimicrobial regimen on decreased in-hospital mortality of patients with MRSA bacteremia

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of the most important causes of bacteremia. Recently, several epidemiological and microbiological changes have become evident in MRSA infections. The purposes of this study were to assess clinical characteristics of patients with MRSA bacteremia and microbiological changes in MRSA. We conducted a retrospective observational study on patients with MRSA bacteremia who were hospitalized between 2008 and 2011. We used univariate and multivariate analysis to evaluate the predictors associated with 30-day mortality. The 7-day and 30-day mortality rates were 12.0% and 25.3%, respectively. According to multivariate analysis, the independent predictors that associated with 30-day mortality were leukopenia, low serum albumin, high sequential organ failure assessment (SOFA) score, and quinolone use within 30 days. Compared to previous data (2003–2007), the SOFA score of the new data set remained unchanged, but in-hospital mortality decreased significantly. In particular, the mortality associated with use of vancomycin (VCM) was significantly lower. Although the minimum inhibitory concentration of VCM required to inhibit the growth of 90% of organisms (MIC90) had not changed, the trough value of VCM changed significantly; a VCM trough value of 10 or greater was significantly higher compared to previous data. Of the staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) types, SCCmec II values decreased significantly, and SCCmec I and IV values increased significantly. Our results indicate that changes in VCM usage might contribute to decreased in-hospital mortality.