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Introduction: Surgical site infections (SSIs) are at the fore-front of healthcare-associated infections and the second most common cause of hospital readmission. The etiology of these infections is generally monobacterial with a predominance of Staphylococcus aureus. Although it is a preventable infection it significantly increases the cost of hospitalization and doubles the mortality rate. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of SSIs and antimicrobial susceptibility of S. aureus isolated from SSIs in patients hospitalized at the Clinical Hospital No. 1 of the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin (Poland) – CH-1 – during the period 2019–2021, in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: Analysed specimens were collected from patients with diagnosed skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) caused by S. aureus, collected in 2019–2021, and then examined during routine microbiological diagnostics. The collection included specimens from patients hospitalized at CH-1, as well as consulted at the Emergency Department (ED) of CH-1, patients from healthcare facility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration in Szczecin, and from detain-ees of the Szczecin Detention Centre (Poland). Out of the total of 1140 results, 232 were classified as SSIs caused by S. aureus and then analysed. All the data were systemically entered into a spreadsheet (Excel 2019) and later subjected to several statistical tests (using StatSoft Statistica 13 package). Results: From the collection of results, 20.4% (232/1140) were considered as SSIs of S. aureus etiology. In the following years 2019, 2020, and 2021, the SSIs of S. aureus etiology were 17.1% (72/421), 19.5% (66/339), and 24.7% (94/380), respectively. Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) was the cause of 7% of analysed SSIs. The highest incidence of SSIs was observed mainly in patients admitted to the trauma and orthopaedic wards and in patients seen in the ED. The majority of SSIs were mono-etiologic, caused by S. aureus only (93%). Mixed etiology was determined in 7% of SSIs with a significant share of beta hemolytic streptococci, enterobacteria, and non-fermentative Gram-negative rods. A slight increase in the prevalence of SSIs was observed during the analysed period. The overall antimicrobial susceptibility of all examined strains was noted, with a low rate of MRSA. The obtained results demonstrate the good practice of both strategies of hospital infection control, as well as the coherent and rational antibiotic policy in the CH-1 in the West Pomeranian region in Poland. The 2017–2018 data on the incidence of SSTIs and the percentage of SSIs among patients hospitalized in CH-1 show that in 2017, SSIs represented 17.9% of all cases classified as SSTIs (57/318), followed by SSIs in 2018, which represented 19.5% of all SSTIs analysed in CH-1 (68/348). The percentage of SSIs among the total SSTIs confirmed during the 2-year pre-pandemic period did not indicate significant changes in the number of SSIs among CH-1 patients hospitalized during the period of analysis. Therefore, it can be concluded that pandemic restrictions did not significantly affect the trend in the predominant proportion of S. aureus among SSIs during the study period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is one of the most frequent chronic and inflammatory skin condition. AD is characterized by damaged epidermal barrier, xerosis and pruritus of eczematous skin lesions which tend to flare. The duration and frequency of exacerbation of AD symptoms markedly affects the quality of patient life. AD results from the interplay between host genetics, immunity, and environmental factors, however the detailed pathogenesis of this disease is still not entirely cleared. Furthermore, disturbances of the skin microbiota and skin functional impairment predispose to secondary skin infections. Staphylococcus aureus colonizes skin and mucous membranes of 20 to 80% of healthy individuals and of 90% of patients with AD in whom this bacterium is accounted as an important AD exacerbating factor. It is also proven, that S. aureus nasal carriage significantly increases the risk for self-transmission and endogenous infection. In the current study the presence of S. aureus either in nasal vestibule and on lesioned skin of 64 patients with AD enrolled in 10-year autovaccination program was determined. The genetic relatedness of 86 S. aureus isolated from patients nose and skin using Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and antimicrobial susceptibility of all strains to methicillin, erythromycin, clindamycin, mupirocin, gentamicin, amikacin, tetracycline, chloramphenicol and cotrimoxazole was also evaluated.Results: In total 23 PFGE genotypes and 24 unique patterns were distinguished. 34 patients were S. aureus nasal carriers. Simultaneous presence of S. aureus in nose and on affected skin was found in 16 carriers colonized by indistinguishable or potentially related S. aureus vs 2 carriers colonized with non-related S. aureus in nasal vestibule and on skin. 4 isolates were methicillin resistant (MRSA) among which 3 showed constitutive MLSB resistance phenotype and remaining one was resistant to tetracycline and chloramphenicol. In 4 isolates inducible MLSB resistance phenotype was found, one of them was additionally resistant to tetracycline. 7 S. aureus were mupirocin resistant among them 3 - isolated from one patient, were resistant simultaneously to tetracyclines and chloramphenicol. 7 strains demonstrated resistance to chloramphenicol and susceptibility to all tested antimicrobial agents. The susceptibility to gentamicin, amikacin and cotrimoxazole among all examined S. aureus was confirmed.Conclusion: The obtained results indicated non-clonal structure of S. aureus circulating in AD patients. PFGE results showed the clonal-structure of vast majority of S. aureus isolated from nose and skin from nasal carriers what may prove the autoinfection in these patients. All examined patients the moderate or strong severity of AD was reported. Susceptibility to most antibiotics among isolated strains was also observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]