Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus otorrhea after tympanostomy tube placement: an emerging concern.

OBJECTIVES: To review the treatment of pediatric patients with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)-positive cultures as a result of otorrhea after tympanostomy tube placement in terms of both medication and isolation strategies and to highlight an emerging problem faced by the clinician with reference to treatment options as well as to the treatment of these patients in an outpatient setting. PATIENTS: Between December 1998 and January 2000, a total of 8 children between the ages of 1 and 11 years had MRSA-positive cultures as a result of otorrhea after tympanostomy tube placement. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Department of Infectious Diseases was notified, and a variety of topical antibiotic treatments were administered. Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2000;126:1440-1443