There are many different kinds of staph infections, and even MRSA encompasses a wide number of bacteria. Some are resistant to many antibiotics while others are resistant to only a few.Staph aureus can live harmlessly in the nose and throat of up to 1 of every 4 people. It can cause infection when it gets into skin through small cuts or scrapes, or through skin which may be affected by conditions such as eczema. Staphylococcus, or Staph, refers to a group of bacteria.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a specific strain of the Staphylococcus aureus bacterium that has developed antibiotic resistance to all penicillins, including methicillin and other narrow-spectrum ß-lactamase-resistant penicillin antibiotics.MRSA may also be known as oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (ORSA) and multiple-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, while non-methicillin resistant strains of S. aureus are sometimes called methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) if an explicit distinction must be made.
Numerous studies have shown that multidrug-resistant bacteria, in particular aerobic Gram-negative bacteria, easily colonize the gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract of hospitalized patients. In addition, it is well known that multidrug-resistant bacteria are becoming increasingly prevalent in the hospital environment as a result of the extensive use of antibiotics.
The prevalence of antimicrobial resistance is increasing in the community, and hospitals have been seeing a rise in patients admitted to their facilities with these bugs. It’s a concern especially because some of these organisms have developed resistance to the standard antibiotics used to fight them.Even with aggressive infection control interventions in intensive care unit populations, MRSA can spread among patients in other locations in a hospital.
The most common type of Staph causing infection is called Staphylococcus aureus, which often causes skin infections like impetigo and boils. Staph can also cause infection of the deeper skin layers (called cellulitis), bone infections, and muscle or joint infections. Rarely, Staph may cause other serious infections, such as internal infections (known as abscesses), pneumonia, and heart infections. Generally, when a doctor in the office or hospital sees someone with these symptoms, they will likely know that Staph aureus is causing the infection.
The most important strategies for controlling the problem of multidrug-resistant organisms in any ICU should be directed towards continuously monitoring the presence of these organisms, and the avoidance of excessive or continued use of any single drug over a long period of time.
Aspirin therapy may protect people on dialysis from infection with the potentially life-threatening bug Staphylococcus aureus.
Based on lab studies showing that aspirin has direct anti-Staph effects, Dr. Martin Sedlacek, from Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, New Hampshire, and colleagues theorized that long-term aspirin therapy might reduce the risk of Staph infections in at-risk dialysis patients.
A look at more than 4,700 blood cultures obtained from 872 patients confirmed their theory. Staph infections occurred significantly less often in patients taking aspirin daily to prevent blood clots compared with those not taking aspirin.
The anti-Staph benefit of aspirin therapy was primarily seen with a regular dose of asprin rather than a baby aspirin, the authors note.
In the final analysis, aspirin use lowered the risk of Staph infection by 54 percent. Aspirin therapy was also linked to a reduced risk of a infection with methicillin-resistant Staph aureus, or MRSA, the hard-to-treat version of the bug.
Aspirin therapy, however, seemed to have no effect on the occurrence of infections by other microbes.
The findings, Sedlacek and colleagues conclude, "strongly support" the need for a forward-looking study of aspirin treatment in dialysis patients and other populations at increased risk of Staph infections..
We know that aspirin in low dose is a commonly used drug in the prophylaxis of platelet aggregation. Aspirin interferes with your blood's clotting action. When you bleed, your blood's clotting cells, called platelets, accumulate at the site of your cut or wound. The platelets normally form a sticky plug that seals the opening in your blood vessel to stop bleeding. However, blood can also clot within the blood vessels that supply your heart and brain with blood. If blood vessels are already narrowed from accumulation of fatty deposits, a blood clot can quickly block the artery. This prevents blood flow to the heart or brain and causes a heart attack or stroke. Aspirin therapy reduces the clumping action of your platelets — possibly preventing heart attack and stroke.
Distension of the renal pelvis seems to be responsible for the development of renal colic. The rise in pelvic pressure due to a ureteric stone can result from various mechanisms such as increased diuresis, inflammatory oedema around the stone and increased frequency of ureteric contractions .
Prostaglandins can play an important role in these mechanisms. Therefore, inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis by drugs such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs could contribute to the lowering of pelvic pressure and distension, and thus to the relief of renal colic.
The jury is still out on the best dose of aspirin to prevent heart attack and stroke. Some studies suggest that lower doses work as well as full-strength doses. Your doctor may prescribe a daily dose anywhere from 81 milligrams (mg) — the amount in a baby aspirin — to 325 mg (regular strength).
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