title: Changes in the epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a Greek tertiary care hospital, over an 8-year-period.
abstract: A total of 1019 non-replicate, consecutively isolated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains were collected from in-patients of a tertiary care general hospital in Athens, Greece, during the period 1994-2001. The susceptibility, resistance phenotypes and the dissemination of these isolates among hospital wards were studied. Total MRSA and gentamicin-resistant MRSA, as a proportion of the S. aureus isolates, increased from 33 and 9% in 1994 to 50.1 and 33.3% in 2001, respectively. Three main multi-resistant phenotypes predominated, representing 50.9% of the total MRSA isolates in 2001. MRSA strains susceptible to all antibiotics tested decreased to 1.9% in 1997 and again increased to 13.5% in 2001. A gradual decrease in the susceptibility of vancomycin during the 8-year-period was detected, but no vancomycin resistant S. aureus strains were isolated.
authors.affiliation: Microbiology Department, Laikon General Hospital, Nikolaou Plastira 19, GR 151 21 Pevki, Athens, Greece. ipapapar@med.uoa.gr
authors.forename: Angeliki
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pantazatou
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Papaparaskevas
authors.forename: Ioanna
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Stefanou
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Papanicolas
authors.forename: Elli
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Demertzi
authors.forename: Athina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Avlamis
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D024901:Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial; D005839:Gentamicins / Q000494:pharmacology; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006769:Hospitals, General; D006801:Humans; D008712:Methicillin / Q000494:pharmacology; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014640:Vancomycin / Q000494:pharmacology
chemical_list: D005839:Gentamicins; D014640:Vancomycin; D008712:Methicillin