Ophthalmic Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections: Sensitivity and Resistance Profiles of 234 Isolates

To identify the sensitivity and resistance profiles of ophthalmic Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in a large, diverse demographic. The electronic database of a large health maintenance organization was searched for patients who had an ophthalmic bacterial culture performed from 2002 to 2008 which grew MRSA. Data collected included culture source, sensitivity and resistance profiles, and whether the infection was community or nosocomially-acquired. In this retrospective study, not all isolates were tested for all the antibiotics. All isolates tested for vancomycin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, and rifampin were sensitive to these antibiotics and none were resistant. Gentamycin and chloramphenicol had the next highest sensitivity to resistance ratios, followed by tetracycline and trimethoprim (without sulfamethoxazole). Community acquired MRSA is becoming more frequent and the most common ophthalmic manifestation is eyelid involvement. The sensitivities to antibiotics of the ophthalmic MRSA isolates in this study are consistent with that seen in the literature.