Abstract
Although long recognized as a nosocomial organism, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has been noted to have an increasing incidence in both immunocompromised and otherwise healthy people in the community. Community-acquired MRSA (CA-MRSA) is genetically distinct from hospital-acquired MRSA and frequently expresses the Panton–Valentine leukocidin toxin, which confers an aggressive necrotizing phenotype and is accompanied by a poor prognosis. We present a case of CA-MRSA pneumonia with the aim to alert the radiologist of the radiographic manifestations of this increasingly encountered and frequently fatal disease.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (1999) Four pediatric deaths from community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: Minnesota and North Dakota, 1997–1999. JAMA 282:1123–1125
Francis JS, Doherty MC, Lopatin U et al (2005) Severe community-onset pneumonia in healthy adults caused by methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus carrying the Panton–Valentine leukocidin genes. Clin Infect Dis 40:100–107
Klevens RM, Morrison MA, Nadle J et al (2007) Invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections in the United States. JAMA 298:1763–1771
Fridkin SK, Hagerman JC, Morrison M et al (2005) Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus disease in three communities. New Engl J Med 352(14):1436–1444
Kahl BC, Peters G (2007) Microbiology: Mayhem in the lung. Science 315(5815):1082–1083
Frazee BW, Salz TO, Lambert L et al (2005) Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia in an immunocompetent young adult. Ann Emerg Med 46(5):401–404
Baggett HC, Hennessy TW, Rudolph K et al (2004) Community-onset methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus associated with antibiotic use and the cytotoxin Panton–Valentine leukocidin during a furunculosis outbreak in rural Alaska. J Infect Dis 189:1565–1573
Lina G, Piemont Y, Godail-Gamot F et al (1999) Involvement of Panton–Valentine leukocidin-producing Staphylococcus aureus in primary skin infections and pneumonia. Clin Infect Dis 29:1128–1132
Dumitrescu O, Boisset S, Bes M et al (2007) Effect of antibiotics on Staphylococcus aureus producing Panton–Valentine leukocidin. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 51:1515–1519
Gillet Y, Issartel B, Vanhems P et al (2002) Association between Staphylococcus aureus strains carrying gene for Panton–Valentine leukocidin and highly lethal necrotising pneumonia in young immunocompetent patients. Lancet 359:753–759
Risson DC, O’Connor ED, Guard RW et al (2007) A fatal case of necrotising pneumonia due to community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Med J Aust 186(9):479–480
Crum-Cianflone NF, Burgi AA, Hale BR (2007) Increasing rates of community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus infections among HIV-infected persons. Int J STD AIDS 18(8):521–526
Ferry T, Etienne J (2007) Community acquired MRSA in Europe. BMJ 335(7627):947–948
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Ebert, M.D., Sheth, S. & Fishman, E.K. Necrotizing pneumonia caused by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus: an increasing cause of “mayhem in the lung”. Emerg Radiol 16, 159–162 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-008-0706-5
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10140-008-0706-5