Rise in pediatric head and neck MRSA infections in USA

A study published in the January 19 issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery shows that there was a nationwide  increase in the prevalence of pediatric methicillin-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus head and neck infections from January 2001 to  December 2006.

The increase in antibiotic-resistant infections has become a big concern  for researchers and clinicians over the years. MRSA was once a condition  that was only found in hospital settings. However, over the last decade  the number of outbreaks has grown among patients without risk factors.

In an attempt to identify trends in the susceptibility of  antibiotic-resistant infections, researchers from the USA's Emory  University School of Medicine and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta  studied data on pediatric patients from nationwide hospitals. They  reviewed a total of 21,009 pediatric head and neck S. aureus infections  from 300 hospitals nationwide that occurred between January 1, 2001 and  December 31, 2006.