Avoiding the Perfect Storm: The Biologic and Clinical Case for Reevaluating the 7-Day Expectation for Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia Before Switching Therapy

Persistent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteremia (MRSAB) is associated with poor outcomes and serious complications. The MRSA guidelines define treatment failure and persistent bacteremia as lasting >= 7 days; however, this definition requires reevaluation. Aggressively reducing the bacterial inoculum promptly is critical because factors already in place before clinical presentation are driving resistance to the few antibiotics that are available to treat MRSAB. Alternative approaches to treat MRSAB should be considered within 3-4 days of persistent MRSAB. With rapid molecular diagnostics emerging in clinical microbiology laboratories and biomarkers as a potential for early patient risk stratification, a future shorter threshold may become possible.