Objectives

Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remains an important cause of healthcare-associated infections. Here, we describe the development of methicillin-resistant isolates among nosocomial Staphylococcus aureus (SA) infections in Germany between 2007 and 2016.

Methods

We analyzed data from the voluntary German national nosocomial Infection Surveillance System. Data on bloodstream infections (BSI) and lower respiratory tract infections (LRTI) were derived from intensive care units (ICU), whereas data on surgical site infections (SSI) were collected from surgical departments (SD). Univariate analysis was performed on trend of proportion, while multivariable logistic regression was performed to identify risk factors for MRSA-infections.

Results

Data of 1218 ICU and 1,556 SD were included. Overall, a decrease in the proportion of MRSA among all nosocomial SA-infections from 32.8% to 20.0% was noted. MRSA decreased from 37.1% to 21.8% ( p = 0.01) for BSI, from 38.7% to 19.2% for LTRI ( p < 0.01) and. from 21.1% to 7.4% ( p < 0.01) in SSI. Logistic regression revealed that SA-infections in Mecklenburg Western-Pomerania were more likely caused by MRSA (Odds ratio (OR): 2.5; 95% CI: 1.7, 3.6).

Conclusion

We observed a significant reduction of the proportion of nosocomial Staphylococcus aureus infections due to MRSA in Germany over the course of the last 10 years.