Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus SCCmec Type and Its Association with Clinical Presentation, Severity, and Length of Stay among Patients with Complicated Skin and Skin Structure Infections

Data from a prospective, randomized, open-label, active-controlled, multicenter, Phase 4 study comparing oral or intravenous linezolid with intravenous vancomycin for treatment of complicated skin and soft-tissue infections caused by methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus was used to determine the association between staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec (SCCmec) type and patient’s clinical presentation, infection severity, intravenous therapy duration and length of stay (LOS). Compared to SCCmec types I, II, and III, SCCmec type IV, PVL+ was associated with more frequent presentation of abscesses, lower severity scores, and shorter intravenous therapy duration and LOS in both treatment groups.