Methicillin-resistance among Turkish isolates of Staphylococcus aureus strains from nosocomial and community infections and their resistance patterns using various antimicrobial agents.

The purposes of this study were to determine the prevalence of Turkish isolates of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in nosocomial and community infections and their antibiotic resistant patterns. The oxacillin disk diffusion method for the detection of methicillin resistance and the Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion for antibiotic susceptibility tests were used. A total 383 S. aureus strains were identified from different patients. The prevalence of methicillin resistance among S. aureus strains was 31.3% (120/383). The proportions of MRSA isolated from nosocomial and community infections were 26.4% (46/174) and 35.4% (74/209), respectively. The resistance rates of MRSA to other antibiotics were as follows: 71% resistant to erythromycin, 54% to clindamycin, 52% to gentamicin, 44.5% to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and 36% to ciprofloxacin. No strain resistant to vancomycin was recorded in this study.