The early addition of a second anti-methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) antibiotic to vancomycin can reduce mortality in severe cases of influenza-MRSA co-infection in children.
Co-infection with influenza and MRSA may cause life-threatening necrotizing pneumonia in children and is associated with high fatality rates in critically ill children. Investigators prospectively enrolled 170 children younger than 18 with influenza infection and acute respiratory failure across 34 pediatric intensive care units from November 2008 to May 2016.
The study compared 3 conditions — MRSA co-infection, non-MRSA bacterial co-infection, and no bacterial co-infection — in terms of clinical course, therapy, and baseline characteristics.
