Recent randomized controlled trials have assessed the non-inferiority of beta-lactam monotherapy compared to beta-lactam/macrolide combination therapy in adult patients hospitalized with CAP. Beta-lactam monotherapy was associated with equivalent clinical outcomes in patients with mild to moderate CAP. Patients with severe CAP managed with beta-lactam monotherapy have demonstrated worse clinical outcomes when compared to patients treated with combination therapy. In addition, previous beta-lactam exposure prior to hospitalization has not been shown to negatively impact outcomes in patients managed with beta-lactam monotherapy in the hospital. Current evidence supports the use of beta-lactam monotherapy in adult patients hospitalized with mild to moderate CAP. While existing evidence supports the use of combination therapy in patients with severe pneumonia, further large-scale randomized controlled trials are urgently needed to clarify the role of combination therapy in this population.
Background
Septic arthritis is a destructive form of acute arthritis secondary to infection. With an annual incidence of 2 to 5 cases per 100 000 individuals, it is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Prompt source control and antimicrobial therapy remain the mainstays of management. Epidemiology, microbiology studies, and local resistance patterns are important in guiding therapeutic decisions. Staphylococcal and streptococcal species are the most common pathogens with Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) becoming an increasingly important pathogen. The increasing incidence of MRSA provides clinicians with the challenge of deciding which patients require empiric coverage for MRSA. MRSA nasal screening has been shown to have a high negative predictive value in pneumonia, bloodstream infections, and nosocomial infections in critically ill patients. However, little is known about the diagnostic utility of MRSA surveillance swabs for predicting MRSA infections in septic arthritis.
Methods
A retrospective cohort study was performed in 3 tertiary hospitals from September 1, 2010 to December 31, 2020. All adult patients with confirmed septic arthritis of the ankle, wrist, knee, or hip and an MRSA surveillance swab performed within 72 hours of admission were included in the study. These data were used to calculate the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value and negative predictive value for MRSA surveillance swabs.
Results
One hundred seventy-two patients met inclusion criteria. Thirty patients had positive MRSA surveillance swabs. The prevalence of MRSA in joint cultures was 11.04%. The positive predictive value of MRSA surveillance swabs was 42.3% and the negative predictive value was 93.5% in all participants. The MRSA surveillance swab had a negative predictive value of 100% in participants with no risk factors for MRSA colonization.
Conclusion
The negative predictive value of MRSA surveillance swabs used independently is insufficient to confidently rule out MRSA as the causative pathogen in septic arthritis. When used in combination with MRSA risk factors, the absence of MRSA risk factors may help clinicians rule out MRSA as a causative pathogen.
Disclosures
All Authors: No reported disclosures
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.