USA300 genotype community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as a cause of surgical site infections

Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) strains are increasingly recovered from nosocomial settings. We conducted a retrospective study of surgical site infections (SSI) during 2004 and 2005 to determine the prevalence of CA-MRSA; 57% of MRSA strains tested belonged to the USA300 genotype. CA-MRSA has become a prominent cause of SSI at our institution.