title: Fatal bacteraemic pneumonia due to community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
abstract: The recent worldwide surge in the incidence of fatal pneumonia caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has generated renewed interest in this well-known organism. We describe two cases of fulminant bacteraemic pneumonia due to CA-MRSA at the National University Hospital in Singapore and provide further epidemiological descriptors of this potentially-deadly disease. The first patient was an 83-year-old woman while the second was a 71-year-old man, none of whom had risk factors for hospital-acquired MRSA colonisation. Clinicians should be aware of the possibility of severe community-acquired pneumonia caused by this organism. Adequate empirical antimicrobial coverage for this important pathogen should be considered.
authors.affiliation: Division of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, National University Hospital, 5 Lower Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119074. chuaaiping@yahoo.com
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Chua
authors.forename: K H
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D011023:Pneumonia, Staphylococcal / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D012846:Singapore; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification*