Clinical Outbreak of Linezolid-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an Intensive Care Unit.

The article focuses on a study which explored the prevalence of linezolid-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LRSA) in an intensive care department of a tertiary care university teaching hospital in Madrid, Spain. The study identified 12 patients who developed LRSA between April 13 and June 26, 2008. Ventilator-assisted pneumonia and bactermia were found to be associated with LRSA. Isolates taken from the patients were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, glycopeptides, tigecycline and daptomycin. The use of linezolid was reduced to 25 defined daily doses in July 2008, and no new cases of LRSA were reported between July 2008 and April 2010. Study authors concluded that LRSA outbreak was associated with nosocomial transmission and over use of linezolid.