title: Management of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia and endocarditis are serious infections that demand prompt clinical attention to ensure good outcomes. Of foremost importance is identifying and managing the source of infection and any associated complications. Evaluation for the presence of cardiac involvement is essential because inadequately managed S. aureus endocarditis is life threatening. Thus, physicians must aggressively negotiate treatment paths, considering whether the S. aureus bacteremia is complicated, whether foreign sources of infection should be removed or replaced, and whether surgical intervention is necessary. Selection of an antibiotic treatment is also an essential factor for optimal management. The increasing prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections has created a tremendous demand for effective and safe antimicrobial agents other than the historic anti-MRSA agent vancomycin.
authors.affiliation: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland; and 2Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Sara E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Cosgrove
authors.forename: Vance G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Fowler
mesh_terms: D016470:Bacteremia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology*; D004697:Endocarditis, Bacterial / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification