title: A European survey of antibiotic management of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection: current clinical opinion and practice.
abstract: Although the epidemiology of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) varies across Europe, healthcare-associated MRSA infections are common in many countries. Despite several national guidelines, the approach to treatment of MRSA infections varies across the continent, and there are multiple areas of management uncertainty for which there is little clinical evidence to guide practice. A faculty, convened to explore some of these areas, devised a survey that was used to compare the perspectives of infection specialists from across Europe on the management of MRSA infections with those of the faculty specialists. The survey instrument, a web-based questionnaire, was sent to 3840 registered delegates of the 19th European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, held in April 2009. Of the 501 (13%) respondents to the survey, 84% were infection/microbiology specialists and 80% were from Europe. This article reports the survey results from European respondents, and shows a broad range of opinion and practice on a variety of issues pertaining to the management of minor and serious MRSA infections, such as pneumonia, bacteraemia, and skin and soft tissue infections. The issues include changing epidemiology, when and when not to treat, choice of treatment, and duration and route of treatment. The survey identified areas where practice can be improved and where further research is needed, and also identified areas of pan-European consensus of opinion that could be applied to European guidelines for the management of MRSA infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Communicable Diseases, Royal Hampshire County Hospital, Winchester, UK. matthew.dryden@wehct.nhs.uk
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dryden
authors.forename: A T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Andrasevic
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bassetti
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bouza
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chastre
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cornaglia
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Esposito
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Giamarellou
authors.forename: I C
authors.initials: IC
authors.lastname: Gyssens
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nathwani
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Unal
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Voss
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D005060:Europe; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011023:Pneumonia, Staphylococcal / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D018461:Soft Tissue Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D013207:Staphylococcal Skin Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents