Actual case studies of children dying from MRSA

Case Reports
Case 1. In July 1997, a 7-year-old black girl from urban Minnesota was admitted to a tertiary-care hospital with a temperature of 103 F (39.5 C) and right groin pain. An infected right hip joint was diagnosed; she underwent surgical drainage and was treated with cefazolin. On the third day of her hospital stay, antimicrobial therapy was changed to vancomycin when cultures of blood and joint fluid grew MRSA. The same day, the patient had another hip drainage procedure, but had respiratory failure and was placed on mechanical ventilation. Her course was complicated by acute respiratory distress syndrome, pneumonia, and an empyema that required chest tube drainage. She died from a pulmonary hemorrhage after 5 weeks of hospitalization.
MRSA isolated from her blood, hip joint, and sputum was susceptible to multiple antibiotic classes . An autopsy revealed bilateral bronchopneumonia with abscesses. The patient was previously healthy with no recent hospitalizations. No family members resided in LTCFs or worked in health-care settings.
Case 2. In January 1998, a 16-month-old American Indian girl from rural North Dakota was taken to a local hospital in shock and with a temperature of 105.2 F (40.6 C), seizures, a diffuse petechial rash, and irritability. She was treated with ceftriaxone but developed respiratory failure and cardiac arrest and died within 2 hours of arriving at the hospital. Blood and cerebrospinal fluid cultures drawn immediately postmortem grew MRSA that was susceptible to multiple antibiotic classes . An autopsy revealed multiple small abscesses of the brain, heart, liver, and kidneys; autopsy cultures of meninges, blood, and lung tissue grew MRSA. One month earlier, the patient had been treated with amoxicillin for otitis media. Neither the patient nor family members had been hospitalized during the previous year; no family members resided in LTCFs or worked in health-care settings.
Case 3. In January 1999, a 13-year-old white girl from rural Minnesota was brought to a local hospital with fever, hemoptysis, and respiratory distress. The day before admission she had a productive cough and a 2-cm papule on her lower lip. A chest radiograph revealed a left lower lobe infiltrate and a pleural effusion. She was treated with ceftriaxone and nafcillin. Within 5 hours of arriving at the hospital, she became hypotensive and was transferred to a pediatric hospital, intubated, and treated with vancomycin and cefotaxime. Despite pulmonary and hemodynamic support, the patient's respiratory status deteriorated, and she died on the seventh hospital day from progressive cerebral edema and multiorgan failure.
The patient's blood, sputum, and pleural fluid grew MRSA that was multidrug susceptible . An autopsy revealed consolidated hemorrhagic necrosis of the left lung. The patient had no chronic medical conditions and no recent hospitalizations; no family members were health-care workers or employees of an LTCF or had a history of IDU.
Case 4. In February 1999, a 12-month-old white boy from rural North Dakota was admitted to a tertiary-care hospital with bronchiolitis, vomiting, and dehydration. He had a temperature of 105.2 F (40.6 C) and a petechial rash. Chest radiograph revealed an infiltrate in the right lung consistent with pneumonitis. On the second hospital day, the patient was diagnosed with a large right pleural effusion. He was transferred to the intensive-care unit, a chest tube was inserted, and treatment with vancomycin and cefuroxime was initiated. The patient developed severe respiratory distress and hypotension the following day and died.
The patient's admission blood culture was negative, but his pleural fluid and a postmortem blood culture grew multidrug-susceptible MRSA . An autopsy revealed acute necrotizing pneumonia with extensive hemorrhage and numerous gram-positive cocci in the right lung. The patient had not been hospitalized since birth and had no known medical problems; no family members were health-care workers or employees of an LTCF or known to be IDUs. His 2-year-old sister had been treated for a culture-confirmed MRSA buttock infection 3 weeks earlier. MRSA isolates from the sister and the patient had identical antibiotic susceptibility profiles.

Protect Yourself and children from MRSA

Preventing 'staph' and MRSA infections?
As with most things, prevention is important to avoid these infections.
Understanding that 'staph' and MRSA is usually spread from having close contact with infected people can help you avoid these infections. In addition to direct physical contact, it may also be spread by 'indirect contact by touching objects (i.e., towels, sheets, wound dressings, clothes, workout areas, sports equipment) contaminated by the infected skin of a person with MRSA or staph bacteria.'
To avoid 'staph' and MRSA, the CDC recommends that you and your kids practice good hygiene, including:
Keeping your hands clean by washing thoroughly with soap and water. Athletes should be encouraged to shower and wash with soap after all practices and competitions.
Keeping cuts and abrasions clean and covered with a proper dressing (e.g., bandage) until healed.
Avoiding contact with other people’s wounds or material contaminated from wounds, including towels, clothing and sports equipment.
If a family member is diagnosed with MRSA, it might be helpful to prevent its spread by treating all family members with Bactroban nasal ointment (to prevent colonization) and an antimicrobial wash, like Hibiclens. This 'decolonization' is controversial though and not all experts recommend it because of the concern that it might lead to even more resistance.
Most importantly, to prevent the continued spread of MRSA and other resistant bacteria, don't ask for antibiotics when your child has an infection that doesn't need it, like a cold or the flu. Although in the past, resistance simply meant that you might have to take 2 or 3 antiobitics to clear your child's ear or sinus infection, the consequences are becoming much more serious, as children are dying from these MRSA infections.

Facts about MRSA

Most people have heard of the Staphylococcus aureus bacteria. Also called S. aureus or simply 'staph', this bacteria is one of the most common causes of skin infections. Although 'staph' can cause serious infections, like blood and bone infections, pneumonia and surgical wound infections, most infections are minor, such as impetigo, cellulitis and small abscesses or boils.
And unfortunately, more and more people are becoming aware of MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus.
While regular 'staph' infections are usually easily treated with cephalosporin antibiotics that are related to penicillin, like Keflex, Duricef, and Ancef, the MRSA bacteria has developed a resistance to these antibiotics, so that they don't work anymore.
How common are staph and MRSA infections?
It is estimated that 25% to 30% of people have the staph bacteria either on their skin or in their nose, althought it doesn't necessarily cause an infection unless there is a break in the skin, like from an insect bite or scratch. Unless they have an infection, these people are simply 'colonized' with 'staph' and don't necessarily need treatment.
Although usually thought of as a 'nosocomial' infection or one that is spread among people in the hospital or a nursing home, etc., MRSA infections are becoming increasingly more common in healthy people who have not been in the hospital (community acquired infections).
There have also been reports of outbreaks 'among participants in competitive sports,' including fencers, football players and wrestlers. These outbreaks may be because athletes have many risk factors for infection, including 'physical contact, skin damage, and sharing of equipment or clothing.'
How did 'staph' become resistant to antibiotics?
Probably because of the general overuse of antibiotics these days. When you take an antibiotic, like Omnicef, Vantin or Ceftin, for an ear or sinus infection, in addition to targeting the bacteria causing those infections, if you are colonized with 'staph', the 'staph' bacteria is also exposed to those antibiotics and so have time to 'learn' how to fight them or become resistant.
Even if your child isn't on antibiotics a lot, if he is in daycare or around a lot of other children who are often on antibiotics, then he might be exposed and can catch resistant bacteria.
Can you treat 'staph' and MRSA infections?
Fortunately, yes. Although MRSA is resistant to methicillin and related penicillin type antibiotics, there are usually other oral antibiotics that still work, like Bactrim (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole) and Clindamycin. Vancomycin is usually the drug of choice for hospitalized patients.
Linezolid (Zyvox) is a newer antibiotic recently approved for use in adults, can treat MRSA and VRSA (Vancomycin Resistant Stapylococcus aureus), and which has been found to be 'effective and well-tolerated in children.'1
Also, when possible, these infections often clear up quickly if the wound can be drained.

Do I have MRSA?????

MRSA infection near eye ...?
“ I don't get the test results back til next week. I have 2 on my face, could just be a staph infection. they are "boil" like pimples. The one on my temple is the most serious because it's causing my eyelid to swell and this morning, now my under-eye is swollen too and the eyelid is beginning to turn red..Anyone know why my eyelid is doing all these tricks. Just because they are boils douesn't really mean MRSA does it? I started clindamycin.A regular staph infection could cause this too. I'm just a little freaked out and not looking forward to the unpleasant side effects of this antibiotic. I think my eye is starting to develop cellulitus ...I don't know what else would cause the redness and swelling coming from a boil on my temple. I get the results next week. Keeping my fingers crossed. Damn superbug stay awy from me... ”

You should have yourself tested for a staph infection. Its possible you have MRSA