Impact of antibiotic prescription practices on non beta lactam antibiotics in Staphylococcus aureus: a four year analysis

Background: Staphylococcus aureus is a major pathogen causing a variety of infections from mild skin conditions to life-threatening diseases like sepsis. The emergence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) poses therapeutic challenges due to resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics. The study focuses on susceptibility trends in S. aureus from pyogenic infections towards non-beta-lactam antibiotics in a tertiary care hospital. Methods: The present retrospective study analyzed microbiological culture data in department of microbiology of a tertiary care hospital from 2019-2022. Clinical samples were processed using conventional methods. Automated Vitek 2 Compact System was used for identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Results: The MRSA prevalence was found to be 55.97% in present study. Most of the isolates of Staphylococcus aureus (78.88%) were from pus samples. Over aperiod of four years MRSA isolates showed decreased susceptibility to clindamycin and erythromycin but there was increased susceptibility to gentamicin and tetracycline. All the isolates were 100 % sensitive vancomycin, linezolid, tigecycline and daptomycin. Conclusion: The study demonstrates the importance of antibiotic cycling as an effective strategy for antimicrobial stewardship.