Back to the Future: Penicillin-Susceptible Staphylococcus aureus

Abstract

More than one-quarter of patients with MSSA bacteremia potentially could be treated with parenteral penicillin, which may offer pharmacokinetic advantages over other beta-lactam drugs and potentially improved outcomes.

Increasing antibiotic susceptibility inStaphylococcus aureusin Boston, Massachusetts, 2000-2014: an observational study

“…In contrast with the extensive efforts to characterize MRSA, only a small number of studies have characterized the dynamics of all S. aureus subtypes, possibly due to the expectation that prevalence of penicillin susceptible S. aureus (PSSA) is extremely low 23 . However, recent reports from diverse sites describe a rising or surprisingly high prevalence of PSSA [24][25][26][27] . Whether this trend is associated with the decline in MRSA and how it impacts overall rates of S. aureus infection are unclear.…”

Increasing Rates of Penicillin Sensitivity in Staphylococcus aureus

“…R ecent publications have reported on the rise of penicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (PSSA). This trend has now been observed on several continents (1) and has been shown to involve bloodstream infections and other serious infections (2). This increase in the incidence of PSSA infections has also been mirrored by a decrease in methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infection rates (3), which raises two important questions.…”

Into the storm: Chasing the opportunistic pathogen Staphylococcus aureus from skin colonisation to life‐threatening infections

“…The increasing isolation of CA‐MRSA from patients in healthcare settings has begun to blur the clinical distinction between HA‐MRSA and CA‐MRSA (Bal et al ., ). The widespread emergence of β‐lactamase producing S. aureus isolates rendered early penicillin‐type antibiotics largely ineffective (although several recent studies have revealed that with the cessation of penicillin usage clinically, non‐β‐lactamase producing/penicillin‐susceptible S. aureus strains are being more frequently isolated (Crane, ; Chabot et al ., ; Cheng et al ., )). This therapeutic problem was temporarily abated in the 1960s with the introduction of methicillin, which is resistant to β‐lactamase‐mediated hydrolysis.…”