Diagnosis and management of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia

Abstract

Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) is common. Around 8000 cases occur per year in Australia, of which 60% are hospital- or healthcare-associated. Risk factors for SAB include injectable drug use, haemodialysis, indwelling vascular catheters and immunosuppression. Metastatic infection develops in up to one-third of patients with SAB, with joints and heart valves being the most commonly affected sites. Community-acquisition, persistent fever, positive blood cultures after 48 h of treatment and the presence of embolic lesions correlate with the presence of complicated SAB (i.e. high risk of endocarditis and/or other metastatic complications). All patients require careful clinical evaluatio..