NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Acute exacerbations of chronic rhinosinusitis due to methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) can be controlled at least partially by using mupirocin nasal irrigations, either alone or along with oral antibiotics, according to physicians at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio.
“We can get good control rates and avoid the cost and potential complications of intravenous antibiotics,” lead author Dr. C. Arturo Solares told Reuters Health.
He presented his group’s findings at the spring meeting of the American Rhinologic Society in Phoenix last week. The researchers conducted “a retrospective review in a select group of patients who have had multiple previous treatments including antibiotics and surgery.”
Included were 24 patients with MRSA-positive sinus cultures. During a total of 28 episodes, patients were treated with mupirocin nasal irrigations twice daily for 4-to-6 weeks, with or without oral doxycycline or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole.
When re-evaluated at the end of the treatment periods, clinical and endoscopic resolution was documented in 12 patients.
During 3-to-27 months of follow-up, 12 patients had at least one recurrence. “The beauty of mupirocin irrigations plus doxycycline is that it can be repeated at relatively low cost for symptom relief and to improve quality of life,” Dr. Solares commented. “For some patients, it is curative.”
Such patients, he added, “require appropriate evaluation and treatment so that conditions such as exacerbations due to MRSA can be identified and treated appropriately.”
MeSH Headings:Biological Phenomena: Biological Phenomena, Cell Phenomena, and Immunity: Biological Sciences: Biology: Drug Resistance, Microbial: Genetics: Genetics, Microbial: Microbiologic Phenomena: Penicillin Resistance: Pharmacogenetics: Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole Combination: Methicillin Resistance: beta-Lactam Resistance: Biological SciencesCopyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
