| Summary: | Objective: To determine the prevalence and characteristics of infections by community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) in a pediatric population in two hospitals in Popayan, Colombia. Materials and methods: We performed a cross-sectional descriptive study, conducted in two hospitals (secondary and tertiary care). We included all children (1 month to 14 years) who consulted to emergency services with suggestive infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus (SA) between September 2009 and August 2010. Results: 205 children consulted with possible staphylococcal infections. 89 (43, 0%) met all inclusion criteria. Of these children, 62 (69.7%) had positive cultures for SA and 28 (45.1%) were CA-MRSA. One third of the patients had risk factors: history of antibiotic use in the past two months, trauma in the past three weeks and hospitalization in the previous year. No significant differences were found in the prevalence of CA-MRSA and risk factors between the two institutions. Conclusions: The prevalence of CA-MRSA infections is high and was similar to national and international studies.
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