Community-acquired, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (cMRSA),
soft tissue infections are becoming increasingly prevalent in the outpatient setting. Few studies have been specifically designed to examine the efficacy of oral
antibiotic therapy for these
infections. We performed an observational study to determine the effect of alternative, orally administered
antibiotics on cMRSA
soft tissue infections. Consecutive patients between January 2001 and March 2004 who had skin or
soft tissue infections from which cMRSA was isolated and who had never received
vancomycin were studied through retrospective and concurrent review. Primary outcome measures were improvement or resolution of
infection 5 and 14 days after initiation of treatment with orally administered
antibiotics and rates of recurrence within 30 days after completion of treatment. Thirty subjects met the inclusion criteria. Twenty-one subjects received either
clindamycin,
trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole,
doxycycline/
minocycline, or a
fluoroquinolone. Five subjects received a
beta-lactam antibiotic with
abscess drainage, and four subjects underwent
abscess drainage alone. Improvement was noted for all subjects at 5 days, complete resolution of
infection occurred for all subjects by 14 to 17 days, and in no case did relapse occur within 30 days. cMRSA skin and
soft tissue infections can be successfully treated with orally administered
antibiotics to which the organism has demonstrable in vitro susceptibility.