Polymicrobial skull osteomyelitis: a rare complication of subdural hematoma evacuation.

BACKGROUND: Osteomyelitis of the skull (SO) is a rare condition. The infection may complicate community-acquired sinusitis, otitis, or mastoiditis, in which case, the skull base is affected most commonly. The flora typically seen in these conditions, such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae, tends also to be responsible for the SO. Osteomyelitis also may follow neurosurgical procedures that breach the skull, in which case, the pathogens frequently are typical cutaneous flora such as Staphylococcus aureus or coagulase-negative staphylococci. METHODS: A case report of post-neurosurgical SO and a review of the relevant English-language literature. RESULTS: We report a delayed presentation of SO after craniotomy for the evacuation of a chronic subdural hematoma. Cranial tissue cultures grew Staphylococcus aureus, Corynebacterium spp., and Escherichia coli. CONCLUSIONS: The isolation of Escherichia coli as an infecting organism in SO has been reported rarely and may reflect a unique pathogenesis.

Outcomes of community-acquired, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, soft tissue infections treated with antibiotics other than vancomycin.

Community-acquired, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (cMRSA), soft tissue infections are becoming increasingly prevalent in the outpatient setting. Few studies have been specifically designed to examine the efficacy of oral antibiotic therapy for these infections. We performed an observational study to determine the effect of alternative, orally administered antibiotics on cMRSA soft tissue infections. Consecutive patients between January 2001 and March 2004 who had skin or soft tissue infections from which cMRSA was isolated and who had never received vancomycin were studied through retrospective and concurrent review. Primary outcome measures were improvement or resolution of infection 5 and 14 days after initiation of treatment with orally administered antibiotics and rates of recurrence within 30 days after completion of treatment. Thirty subjects met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-one subjects received either clindamycin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, doxycycline/minocycline, or a fluoroquinolone. Five subjects received a beta-lactam antibiotic with abscess drainage, and four subjects underwent abscess drainage alone. Improvement was noted for all subjects at 5 days, complete resolution of infection occurred for all subjects by 14 to 17 days, and in no case did relapse occur within 30 days. cMRSA skin and soft tissue infections can be successfully treated with orally administered antibiotics to which the organism has demonstrable in vitro susceptibility.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an adult military beneficiary population lacking risk factors: susceptibility to orally available agents.

To determine the unique susceptibility of community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) as a function of the presence or absence of risk factors in a military beneficiary population, we reviewed all MRSA cases between 1994 and 1997 in a military medical center. Of 67 cases, 24 were community acquired, 9 of whom lacked risk factors for MRSA infection, and 43 cases were nosocomial. Among isolates from patients without risk factors, seven (77.8%) were susceptible to ciprofloxacin, eight (88.9%) to trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, eight (88.9%) to erythromycin, eight (88.9%) to tetracycline, and nine (100.0%) to clindamycin. These rates were markedly higher than those seen in isolates obtained from community-acquired cases with risk factors as well as from nosocomial cases (p < 0.01). Three clonal types of MRSA from patients without risk factors were identified and susceptibilities were similar for each of the three types. These results indicate that therapy with active oral agents might be reasonable for some less severe MRSA infections in our active duty military patients without risk factors, and additional studies are merited.

Comparative activities of the oxazolidinone AZD2563 and linezolid against selected recent North American isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae.

The activity of AZD2563 against 250 highly resistant pneumococci and 267 drug-susceptible isolates was determined. The AZD2563 MICs for 50 and 90% of the strains tested were 1 and 2 micro g/ml and 0.5 and 1 micro g/ml, respectively, for the two isolate groups. These MICs were within 1 log(2) dilution of those of linezolid.