Prevalence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from saliva samples of patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma.

Abstract

Objectives: To study the prevalence of methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in saliva samples of pre-surgical oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients along with their resistance pattern to other antibiotics. Methods: Saliva samples of OSCC patients were collected and processed for isolation of MRSA. Staphylococcus aureus  isolates were primarily identified using standard microbiological methods like biochemical assays, specialized media and latex agglutination test. Confirmation of MRSA strains was done by growing the isolates on MRSA agar and by using PCR to amplify two MRSA specific genes. All the isolated Staphylococcus aureus  strains were subjected to antibiotic sensitivity tests. Results: A total of 17 Staphylococcus aureus strains were isolated from 50 saliva samples of pre-surgical OSCC patients of which 13 were confirmed to be MRSA. These MRSA strains were also found to be mostly resistant to other commonly used antibiotics. Univariate analysis revealed that most patients with MRSA infections had a prior history of hospitalization and surgery. Also, it was confirmed that patients with other comorbidities and infections were more prone to having MRSA present in the saliva. Conclusion: The majority of Staphylococcus aureus  isolates from the saliva of OSCC patients were MRSA, and were resistant to several other commonly used antibiotics.