Abstract

Background/Objective: Tigecycline belongs to the glycylcycline class of antibiotics with in-vitroactivity against most gram-positive bacteria, including multidrug-resistant pathogens. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is one of such pathogen, which has been associated with community and hospital-acquired infections. Tigecycline is considered to be a newer treatment option for emerging multidrug-resistant bacteria. This study aims to determine the in-vitro activity of tigecycline against community and hospital-acquired MRSA isolated from infected traumatic wounds in Cross River State.
Material and Methods: A total of 60 MRSA were isolated from wound samples, 30 each from the community and hospital settings. These were tested for tigecycline susceptibility by the E-test method. Detection of methicillin resistance was performed using cefoxitin (30µg) disk. All strains were identified according to standard bacteriological methods.
Results: Of the 60 isolates, 55 (91.7%) were sensitive to tigecycline with MIC50 and MIC90 values of 0.25 and 0.5μg/ml, respectively. Twenty-seven (90.0%) of the 30 community-acquired isolates were susceptible to tigecycline, while 28 (93.3%) of the 30 hospital-acquired isolates were susceptible.
Conclusions: Tigecycline showed excellent in-vitro activity against MRSA wound isolates and, therefore may be a drug of choice for empirical therapy of skin and soft tissue infections in areas where MRSA is prevalent.

Key words: MRSA, Tigecycline, MIC, Antimicrobial susceptibility, E-Test