Injecting drug use is a risk factor for methicillin resistance in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections.
Curtis SJ., Marvelianto Tedjo T., Lee SJ., Rawson-Harris PJ., Sim K., Attwood LO., Jenney AWJ., Stewardson AJ.
We investigated whether injecting drug use was a risk factor for methicillin resistance among inpatients with Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections (SABSIs) at an Australian health service. In 273 inpatients, 46 (16.9%) of SABSIs were methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). MRSA was more frequent in those who had injected drugs in the past 6 months (20.6%) compared with other inpatients (15.7%). Injecting drug use was associated with a 4.82-fold (95% confidence interval = 1.54-16.29) increased odds of MRSA after accounting for confounders.