Sadaf Munir, Saima Inam, Almas Raza, Muhammad Tahir Saeed, Aqsa Aslam, Aneela Khuaja.
Frequency of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Intensive Care Units of a Tertiary Care Hospital.
J Sharif Med Dent Coll Nov ;4(02):61-5.

Objective: To determine the frequency of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in intensive care units (ICUS) of a Tertiary Care Hospital, Lahore. Methodology: It was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at ICUs of Sharif Medical City Hospital, Lahore. The study was approved by the ethical committee of the institution. The clinical specimens of 371 patients received in the Pathology Laboratory for culture and sensitivity were included in the study. The isolates of Staphylococcus were identified by colony morphology on blood & chocolate agar, catalase test and gram staining. The strains of Staphylococcus aureus were further isolated using DNase test. The isolates were labeled as methicillin-resistant or sensitive by performing antibiotic sensitivity testing for cefoxitin by the disc-diffusion method. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 24. Results: Twenty eight isolates of Staphylococcus aureus were obtained from 371 clinical specimens. Among 28 S. aureus, 12(3.2%) were MRSA. Out of 12 MRSA, 2 were isolated from blood, 1 from central venous catheter tip and I were from pus. One patient was upto 19 years old, 2 were 20-29 years old, 2 between 30-39 years and 4 patients were 40-49 years old while 3 were >50 years old. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was found to be more prevalent among males as 9 strains were isolated from males and 3 from females. Conclusion: The prevalence of MRSA was 3.2% in ICUs of Sharif Medical City Hospital. The prevalence was higher in males as compared to females and in the age group of 50 years & above. Keywords: Prevalence. Specimens. MRSA. Intensive care unit.

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