• Sara E Cosgrove, Youlin Qi, Keith S Kaye, Stephan Harbarth, Adolf W Karchmer, and Yehuda Carmeli.
• Division of Infectious Diseases, Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland 21287, USA. scosgro1@jhmi.edu
• Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol. 2005 Feb 1;26(2):166-74.

ObjectiveTo evaluate the impact of methicillin resistance in Staphylococcus aureus on mortality, length of hospitalization, and hospital charges.DesignA cohort study of patients admitted to the hospital between July 1, 1997, and June 1, 2000, who had clinically significant S. aureus bloodstream infections.SettingA 630-bed, urban, tertiary-care teaching hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.PatientsThree hundred forty-eight patients with S. aureus bacteremia were studied; 96 patients had methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). Patients with methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and MRSA were similar regarding gender, percentage of nosocomial acquisition, length of hospitalization, ICU admission, and surgery before S. aureus bacteremia. They differed regarding age, comorbidities, and illness severity score.ResultsSimilar numbers of MRSA and MSSA patients died (22.9% vs 19.8%; P = .53). Both the median length of hospitalization after S. aureus bacteremia for patients who survived and the median hospital charges after S. aureus bacteremia were significantly increased in MRSA patients (7 vs 9 days, P = .045; 19,212 dollars vs 26,424 dollars, P = .008). After multivariable analysis, compared with MSSA bacteremia, MRSA bacteremia remained associated with increased length of hospitalization (1.29 fold; P = .016) and hospital charges (1.36 fold; P = .017). MRSA bacteremia had a median attributable length of stay of 2 days and a median attributable hospital charge of 6916 dollars.ConclusionMethicillin resistance in S. aureus bacteremia is associated with significant increases in length of hospitalization and hospital charges.

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