Comparison of the clinical significance of methicillin-resistant and methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus isolations.

A prospective study of the incidence and clinical significance of Staphylococcus aureus isolations in patients undergoing surgery in a 600-bed hospital has disclosed that methicillin-sensitive organisms are more likely to be associated with severe infections (36%) than methicillin-resistant organisms (26%), and that resistant organisms are present as a colonization more often (54%) than sensitive organisms (42%). However, once a severe infection has become established, that with a methicillin-resistant organism is associated with an increased length of stay in hospital, and a greater risk of death.