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Dryad

Data from: Biofilm-associated multidrug-resistant and methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus infections in children

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Dec 26, 2023 version files 18.22 KB

Abstract

Introduction: The ability of Staphylococcus aureus to form biofilms—architectural complexes that cause chronic and recalcitrant infections—along with its notorious variant, methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), leads to multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections that are challenging to treat with antibiotics. This cross-sectional study investigated the prevalence of S. aureus infections in children (<17 years) and characterized the antibiograms of MDR, MRSA, and biofilm-forming strains, along with their coexistence.

Methods: S. aureus strains were isolated and identified from clinical samples and tested for antibiograms following standard microbiology guidelines. MDR strains were non-susceptible to at least one agent in three antimicrobial categories, whereas MRSA strains were cefoxitin-resistant. The gold-standard microtiter plate method was used to detect biofilms. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 17.0.

Results: S. aureus was detected in 9.02% of 543 samples, primarily from pus (79.59%, 39/49). Children aged 1 to <3 years most commonly contracted infections (30.61%, 15/49), and males (67.35%, 33/49) had twice as many infections as females (32.65%, 16/49). As high as 84.69% (83/98) of strains were penicillin-resistant, while 18.37% (27/147) were aminoglycoside-resistant. MDR accounted for 79.59% (39/49) of all S. aureus infections, while MRSA and biofilm-formers accounted for 67.35% (33/49) and 24.49% (12/49), respectively. Fluoroquinolone resistance in non-(MDR-MRSA-biofilm-formers), MDR-MRSA, MDR-biofilm-formers, and MRSA-biofilm-formers was 31.25%, 46.77%, 58.33%, and 60%, respectively, while aminoglycoside resistance was 0%, 32.26%, 50.0%, and 45.0%, and penicillin resistance was 87.50%, 85.48%, 100.0%, and 100.0%.

Conclusion: S. aureus, mostly MDR and MRSA, caused four-fifths of infections in children. Compared to MDR-MRSA and non-(MDR-MRSA-biofilm-formers), MDR-biofilm-formers and MRSA-biofilm-formers triggered higher levels of antimicrobial resistance.