Lab research published in JAMA asserts that beta-lactam antibiotic treatment is not only ineffective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infections, it could worsen them.
Researchers from Los Angeles-based Cedars-Sinai Medical Center discovered when MRSA is exposed to beta-lactam antibiotics, a gene called mecaA is activated, which causes a chain reaction that can trigger inflammation. In MRSA-infected mice, this reaction caused more severe skin infections and greater immunopathology.
This finding could be of importance because anywhere between 30 and 80 percent of people with a MRSA infection are treated with beta-lactam antibiotics or another inappropriate treatment, according to the study.
"Although findings from this latest study need to be confirmed in humans, they underscore the importance of rapidly diagnosing MRSA infections and avoiding prescribing antibiotics that could worsen the infection," the study reads.