Occurrence, Risk Factors and Antibiotic Susceptibility Pattern of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus from Wounds of Patients attending Selected Hospitals in Parts of Kaduna State, Nigeria

Wound infections represent a major health challenge because they delay wound healing, leading to continuous hospital visitation, increased health care costs, and sometimes severe complications. Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus is a leading bacterial pathogen associated with wound infection. The study aimed to investigate the occurrence, risk factors, and antibiotic susceptibility profile of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from wounds of patients attending selected hospitals in Kaduna, Nigeria. A total of 200 wound swab samples were collected from consenting patients. We isolated and identified Staphylococcus aureus using standard microbiological methods, including culture on Mannitol Salt Agar (MSA), Gram staining, and biochemical characterization. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by the disc diffusion method according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. Data on socio-demographic and potential risk factors were obtained using a structured questionnaire. Of the 200 wound swabs examined, 78 (39.0%) were identified as Staphylococcus aureus; of these, 61 were identified as MRSA, giving an overall prevalence of 30.5% for MRSA. A higher prevalence of MRSA was observed among males (34.37%), patients aged 30-39 years (34.88%), hospitalized patients (34.25%), patients with underlying diseases (41.93%), recent antibiotic users (31.86%), and frequent users of herbal remedies (34.14%). However, none of these factors showed a statistically significant association with infection (p ˃ 0.05). Antibiotic susceptibility pattern revealed high susceptibility to ceftaroline (72.13%), gentamicin (72.13%), and chloramphenicol (67.22%). In contrast, high resistance rates were recorded for clindamycin (73.77%), erythromycin (57.37%), and tetracycline (49.18%). The study demonstrated a high prevalence of MRSA among the study population with substantial resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Continuous surveillance, strict infection prevention measures, and strong antibiotic stewardship programs are key to reducing MRSA burden among patients with wounds in Kaduna State and Nigeria at large.