Antibiotic Susceptibility of Staphylococcus aureus in Atopic Dermatitis: Current Prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Korea and Treatment Strategies.
BACKGROUND
Staphylococcus aureus is a well-known microbe that colonizes or infects the skin in atopic dermatitis (AD). The prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) in AD has recently been increasing.


OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility patterns in AD skin lesions and evaluate the prevalence of MRSA in Korea. We also recommend proper first-line topical antibiotics for Korean patients with AD.


METHODS
We studied S. aureus-positive skin swabs (n=583) from the lesional skin of infants, children, and adults who presented to our outpatient clinic with AD from July 2009 to April 2012.


RESULTS
S. aureus exhibited high susceptibility against most antimicrobial agents. However, it exhibited less susceptibility to benzylpenicillin, erythromycin, clindamycin, and fusidic acid. The prevalence of MRSA was 12.9% among 583 S. aureus isolates, and the susceptibility to oxacillin was significantly lower in infants in both acute and chronic AD lesions.


CONCLUSIONS
S. aureus from AD has a high prevalence of MRSA and multidrug resistance, especially in infants. In addition, the rate of fusidic acid resistance is high among all age groups, and mupirocin resistance increases with age group regardless of lesional status. This is the first study comparing the antimicrobial susceptibility rates of S. aureus isolates from AD cases with respect to age and lesion status in Korea.
Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Mi-Young
MY
Jung
Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Jong-Youn
JY
Chung
Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Hae-Young
HY
Lee
Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Jiho
J
Park
Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Dong-Youn
DY
Lee
Department of Dermatology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Jun-Mo
JM
Yang
Antimicrobial susceptibility; Atopic dermatitis; Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus; Staphylococcus aureus