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Open Access 01-12-2024 | Soft Tissue Infection | Research

Community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infection risk assessment using hotspot analysis and risk maps: the case of California emergency departments

Authors: Brittany L. Morgan Bustamante, Laura Fejerman, Larissa May, Beatriz Martínez-López

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2024

Abstract

Background

Community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus (CA-Sa) skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) are historically associated with densely populated urban areas experiencing high poverty rates, intravenous drug use, and homelessness. However, the epidemiology of CA-Sa SSTIs in the United States has been poorly understood since the plateau of the Community-acquired Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus epidemic in 2010. This study examines the spatial variation of CA-Sa SSTIs in a large, geographically heterogeneous population and identifies neighborhood characteristics associated with increased infection risk.

Methods

Using a unique neighborhood boundary, California Medical Service Study Areas, a hotspot analysis, and estimates of neighborhood infection risk ratios were conducted for all CA-Sa SSTIs presented in non-Federal California emergency departments between 2016 and 2019. A Bayesian Poisson regression model evaluated the association between neighborhood-level infection risk and population structure, neighborhood poverty rates, and being a healthcare shortage area.

Results

Emergency departments in more rural and mountainous parts of California experienced a higher burden of CA-Sa SSTIs between 2016 and 2019. Neighborhoods with high infection rates were more likely to have a high percentage of adults living below the federal poverty level and be a designated healthcare shortage area. Measures of population structure were not associated with infection risk in California neighborhoods.

Conclusions

Our results highlight a potential change in the epidemiology of CA-Sa SSTIs in California emergency departments. Future studies should investigate the CA-Sa burden in other geographies to identify whether this shift in epidemiology holds across other states and populations. Further, a more thorough evaluation of potential mechanisms for the clustering of infections seen across California neighborhoods is needed.

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Title: Community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infection risk assessment using hotspot analysis and risk maps: the case of California emergency departments
Authors: Brittany L. Morgan Bustamante
Laura Fejerman
Larissa May
Beatriz Martínez-López
Publication date: 01-12-2024
Publisher: BioMed Central
Keyword: Soft Tissue Infection
Published in: BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2024
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-17336-6

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

Community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus skin and soft tissue infection risk assessment using hotspot analysis and risk maps: the case of California emergency departments

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

2024 ASCO Annual Meeting

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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