MRSA and the risks associated with AIDS patients - Research Paper Example

HIV infected patients are at amplified risk for Staphylococcus aureus and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) colonization, infection and blood stream infection. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has come out as a common cause of infections in community and hospital settings (Hidron, 2005). It is evident that, apart from emerging cause of skin and soft tissue infections, S. aureus, including MRSA, also represents a significant proportion of invasive infections, including bacteremia (Senthilkumar, 2001).

The rate of clinically significant MRSA infections has continued over time in HIV-infected populations (Mathews, 2005). Studies carried out in past also revealed distinct risk factor patterns for MRSA infections in patients with HIV including low CD4 cell count, high HIV-RNA viral load, and absence of cotrimoxazole prophylaxis (Tumbarello , 2002, Mathews, 2005). Most studies of MRSA infection in HIV-infected patients have primarily evaluated skin and soft tissue infections with only a small number of bloodstream infections (Nguyen, 1999, Mathews, 2005).

Although much studies have been performed but little is known about the epidemiology of and unique risk factors for MRSA bacteraemia in HIV-infected patients in the present epoch of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) (Senthilkumar, 2001). The reason for this has been postulated that, at present approved empiric regimens often lead to delayed use of appropriate antibiotics for presumed sepsis. As compared to patients with methicillin sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) bacteremia, patients with MRSA bacteremia were significantly less likely to have received effective antibiotic treatment within the first 48 hours of hospitalization (Roghmann, 2000).

The situation becomes more critical in case of HIV-infected patients; there is particular concern about life-threatening invasive MRSA infections. A large study of bacteremia