This pathogen causes skin infections presented as cellulitis,
impetigo, folliculitis, furunculosis, carbuncles, abcesses, and
infected lacerations. The patient has no history of
hospitalization, admission to a nursing home, dialysis, surgery
or inserted medical devices in the last year. The diagnosis is
made either in the outpatient setting or within the first 48
hours of admission to a medical facility. The patient has no
history of MRSA infection. This begins with incision, drainage
and localized care. Diagnosis by culture is useful in recurrent
cases or in cases of antibiotic failure. If patient is found to
have a MRSA skin infection and antibiotics are indicated, use
culture results to select an antibiotic to which the organism is
susceptible. If the strain is sensitive to Rifampin, that drug
should never be given alone because of rapid development of
resistance. The USA 300 clone is becoming the dominant strain
causing 90% of incoming skin and soft tissue infections. The 300
clone gets its name from its