Risk factors for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in diabetic foot infections.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to evaluate risk factors for methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in patients hospitalized for diabetic foot infections.


METHODS
We reviewed hospital admissions for foot infections in patients with diabetes which had nasal swabs, and anaerobic and aerobic tissue cultures at the time of admission. Data collected included patient characteristics and medical history to determine risk factors for developing an MRSA infection in the foot.


RESULTS
The prevalence of MRSA in these infections was 29.8%. Risk factors for MRSA diabetic foot infections were history of MRSA foot infection, MRSA nasal colonization, and multidrug-resistant organisms (p<0.05). Positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV) of nasal colonization with MRSA to identify MRSA diabetic foot infections were 66.7% and 80.0% (sensitivity 41%, specificity 90%). Admission from a nursing home was not a significant risk factor.


CONCLUSIONS
Positive nasal swabs are not predictive of the infecting agent; however, a negative nasal swab rules out MRSA as the infecting agent in foot wounds with 90% accuracy.
Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Lawrence A
LA
Lavery
Department of Plastic Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Javier La
JL
Fontaine
Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
Kavita
K
Bhavan
Department of Plastic Surgery, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA.
Paul J
PJ
Kim
Solo Private Practice, Granbury, TX, USA.
Jayme R
JR
Williams
Private Practice, Orthopaedic & Spine Center of the Rockies, Fort Collins, CO, USA.
Nathan A
NA
Hunt
MRSA; diabetic foot; infection; ulcer