Treatment and prevention of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infections

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) has emerged as a pathogen in the community with a range of clinical manifestations. Although skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are the most common presentation, invasive and more virulent disease has been observed. Colonization and infection with CA-MRSA can occur in individuals with no prior healthcare exposures but also in distinct groups whose common characteristic appears to be close person-to-person contact. Outbreaks with CA-MRSA have occurred in day care centers, athletic teams, and prisons, and transmission has been documented among family members and within the hospital. Treatment of SSTIs involves incision and drainage, oral or parenteral antibiotic therapy, or topical therapy. Healthcare practitioners in outpatient and inpatient settings need to be familiar with prevention and treatment strategies for CA-MRSA.