title: Staphylococcus aureus infections: epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and management.
abstract: Staphylococcus aureus is a major human pathogen that causes a wide range of clinical infections. It is a leading cause of bacteremia and infective endocarditis as well as osteoarticular, skin and soft tissue, pleuropulmonary, and device-related infections. This review comprehensively covers the epidemiology, pathophysiology, clinical manifestations, and management of each of these clinical entities. The past 2 decades have witnessed two clear shifts in the epidemiology of S. aureus infections: first, a growing number of health care-associated infections, particularly seen in infective endocarditis and prosthetic device infections, and second, an epidemic of community-associated skin and soft tissue infections driven by strains with certain virulence factors and resistance to β-lactam antibiotics. In reviewing the literature to support management strategies for these clinical manifestations, we also highlight the paucity of high-quality evidence for many key clinical questions.
authors.affiliation: Global and Tropical Health, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia Steven.Tong@menzies.edu.au vance.fowler@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Steven Y C
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1368-8356
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Global and Tropical Health, Menzies School of Health Research, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.
authors.forename: Joshua S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Eichenberger
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA.
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Holland
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina, USA Steven.Tong@menzies.edu.au vance.fowler@duke.edu.
authors.forename: Vance G
authors.initials: VG
authors.lastname: Fowler
mesh_terms: D017714:Community-Acquired Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000628:therapy; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000235:genetics / Q000472:pathogenicity; D037521:Virulence Factors / Q000235:genetics; D018440:beta-Lactam Resistance / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D037521:Virulence Factors