title: Pediatric neck abscesses caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: a retrospective study of incidence and susceptibilities over time.
abstract: Since the early 2000s, studies have shown that the incidence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in the pediatric population has been increasing. Moreover, studies also have indicated a trend toward increased resistance to commonly used antibiotics over time. However, few studies have specifically focused on such trends in pediatric neck abscesses. We undertook a retrospective study of 109 patients to compare the incidence of pediatric neck abscesses caused by MRSA during two separate 5-year periods at Children's Hospital of New Orleans in an attempt to determine if the incidence was indeed increasing. We also analyzed differences in MRSA susceptibility to various antibiotics over the same two time periods-January 1997 through December 2001 (n = 22) and January 2002 through December 2006 (n = 87). We found a statistically significant increase in the incidence of MRSA between the first 5-year period and the second-from 25 to 70.3% (p = 0.0388). We did not find any significant difference in antibiotic susceptibility patterns between the two 5-year periods.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Parker A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Velargo
authors.forename: Emily L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: Evelyn A
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Kluka
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D009333:Neck; D055820:New Orleans / Q000453:epidemiology; D010343:Patient Admission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents