title: Resistance to methicillin and virulence of Staphylococcus aureus strains in bacteriemic cancer patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the relation between resistance to methicillin and virulence in strains of Staph. aureus by estimating the survival at day 30.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case control analysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Inpatients at a major Cancer Referral Center.
  
  
  METHODS
  21 patients with methicillin-resistant Staph. aureus (MRSA) bactaeremia and 45 patients with methicillin-susceptible Staph. aureus (MSSA) bactaeremia, all treated with vancomycin.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fewer MRSA than MSSA patients were neutropenic (p = 0.04), but more MRSA patients were hospitalized in intensive care units (p = 0.03), had had surgical episodes (p = 0.06). MRSA patients also had more microbiological samples cultured (p = 0.007). The outcome of the bacteriemic episodes in 14 MRSA and 14 MSSA patients matched for these four factors showed that blood cultures from MRSA patients remained positive significantly longer (p = 0.04), but that survival and length of hospital stay were not significantly different.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results do not indicate that methicillin-resistance in Staph. aureus is associated with increased virulence.
authors.affiliation: Service de Microbiologie Médicale, Institut Gustave-Roussy, Villejuif, France.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marty
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Flahault
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Suarez
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Caillon
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hill
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Andremont
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy; D002173:Cancer Care Facilities; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007362:Intensive Care Units; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D016555:Matched-Pair Analysis; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000150:complications; D011379:Prognosis; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000628:therapy; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000472:pathogenicity*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D015996:Survival Rate; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000097:blood / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014640:Vancomycin