Prevalence of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections among patients admitted in critical care units in a tertiary care hospital

Background: The emergence of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in hospital leads to significant morbidity and mortality. Hence the present study was undertaken to estimate the prevalence of MRSA in critical care units (CCUs) at our centre. The objective of this study was to find the prevalence of MRSA infections in CCUs, to determine their antibiotic profile. And to screen for MRSA in the environment of CCUs in order to find whether they act as a source of infection.Methods: The present cross-sectional study included 100 patients admitted to various CCUs in our hospital. The clinical specimens (urine, Sputum, pus, blood and CSF) were collected from the admitted patients along with environmental samples from these CCUs. Two samples were collected from each patient and subjected to culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing.Results: 168 samples from 100 patients were processed. Out of which five pus samples from five different patients admitted in surgical intensive care unit (SICU) were positive for MRSA infection showing 5% prevalence in CCUs. All MRSA strains were sensitive to vancomycin and teicoplanin. Out of 30 environmental swabs, 1 swab taken from paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) showed positivity for MRSA (3%).Conclusions: CCUs in our hospital have shown 5% prevalence of MRSA among the admitted patients. There was no correlation between environmental MRSA presence and infection in the samples from patient

Prevalence of microorganisms causing catheter associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) among catheterised patients admitted in a tertiary care hospital

Background: Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Indian subjects, affecting all age groups. Bacteriuria orcandiduria is almost inevitable in nearly half of the patients who require an indwelling urinary catheter for more than 5 days. The objective of this study was to find the prevalence of CAUTI infection and to determine their antibiotic profileMethods: The present cross-sectional study included 50 patients admitted to medicine and surgery wards in our hospital. The urine from catheter is collected from each patient and subjected to culture and antibiotic susceptibility testing.Results: The prevalence of catheter associated urinary tract infection in our hospital is about 20% and asymptomatic bacterial colonization is 50% which is nearequal to Danchaivijitr S et al study. The common pathogens found in this study are Escherichia coli (22%), Klebsiella (18%), Enterobacter (8%), Staph. aureus (6%) which include MRSA (4%), Pseudomonas (6%), Enterococcus (4%), Candida sps. (4%) Andproteus (2%).Conclusions: CAUTI has low prevalence 20% and asymptomatic colonisation 50% in our hospital with common pathogen being Escherichia coli. It is one of the important notable pathogen causing nosocomial infection among admitted patients. The patients present mainly as asymptomatic bacterial colonisation and risk of CAUTI increases with longer duration of catheterisation. All patients those who had catheter for more than 6 days, aged 60 and above, should be checked for UTI symptoms. And their urine should be cultured regularly in order to diagnose and prevent CAUTI and its complications which are very dangerous and difficult to treat

First case of scrub typhus with meningoencephalitis from Kerala: An emerging infectious threat

Scrub typhus is a rickettsial disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, one of the most common infectious diseases in the Asia-Pacific region. It has been reported from northern, eastern, and southern India, and its presence has been documented in at least 11 Indian states. However, scrub typhus meningoencephalitis has not been well documented in Kerala. We report two cases of scrub typhus meningoencephalitis from northern Kerala. The diagnosis was made based on the clinical pictures, presence of eschar, and a positive Weil–Felix test with a titer of > 1:320. The first patient succumbed to illness due to respiratory failure and the second patient improved well