Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus:: A cause of musculoskeletal sepsis in children

Between August 1996 and August 1997, 130 children were admitted to our pediatric orthopaedic unit with Staphylococcus aureus musculoskeletal infection. Twenty-six of the 130 staphylococcal isolates were resistant to methicillin, an incidence of 20%. All but one of the infections, a femoral fixator-pin infection, were community-acquired. Twenty-two of the infections were superficial; however, there were four cases of deep musculoskeletal sepsis due to methicillin-resistant S. aureus. In areas where methicillin-resistant S. aureus is prevalent in the community, methicillin resistance should be considered in any overwhelming staphylococcal infection not responding to conventional antibiotics despite adequate surgical debridement.