What Are the Treatments & Outcome for MRSA Infection of the Blood ?

MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) infection is a potentially deadly bacterial infection. Serious MRSA infections go beyond the skin and can enter the blood, heart, lungs and bone among other areas. Exact treatment and prognosis will depend on the nature of your infection.

Determining Treatment

• Your doctor will run several tests on the MRSA strain to determine the most effective combination of antibiotics. This can take several days.

Antibiotic Treatment

• Antibiotics are the main treatment for serious MRSA infections but do not always work. You will most likely need IV antibiotic therapy with two or more drugs. The most commonly used antibiotics for MRSA infection include clindamycin, daptomycin, doxycycline, linezolid, minocycline, tetracycline, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and vanomycin.

Additional Treatments

• A MRSA blood infection might cause other complications requiring hospitalization and additional treatments. Possible treatments include IV fluids and other medications, dialysis for kidney failure, and oxygen.

Surgical Intervention

• Certain medical conditions make MRSA more difficult to destroy and might require surgical intervention to prevent harboring the bacteria, especially if antibiotic treatments fail. You might need to remove pacemakers or other foreign objects inside the body.

Prognosis

• The National Institutes of Health indicates the prognosis depends on the extent of the infection and your age. Blood infections are one of the most deadly MRSA infections and have a mortality rate of about 20 percent.