The changing pattern of severe neonatal staphylococcal infection: a 10-year study.

Forty-two cases of severe staphylococcal infection occurring over a 10-year period in the neonatal unit at Queen Mary Hospital are described. There was a 4.5-fold increase in incidence in the latter half of the study period, when methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) emerged. The isolated MRSA were also resistant to gentamicin, but sensitive to vancomycin, fusidic acid, co-trimoxazole and amikacin. Comparison between MRSA and methicillin-sensitive cases showed that the former was associated with a longer hospital stay after diagnosis. Overall mortality was 9.5%. Two cases with meningitis died. MRSA is at least as virulent as its methicillin-sensitive counterparts. The treatment implications of severe neonatal staphylococcal infection are discussed.