Time from Admission to the Onset of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia in a Single Acute Care Hospital in Japan.

The spread of antimicrobial resistant organisms (AROs) poses a major threat to animal and human health. In Japan, the estimated disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) due to ARO infections is 137.9 per 100,000 persons, with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) being the main contributor. Factors that can contribute to DALYs in Japan include younger age and a higher number of deaths in patients with MRSA bacteremia. Moreover, longer hospital stays may contribute to the higher rates of MRSA bacteremia in Japan than in western countries. We reviewed the diagnostic procedure combination data collected from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2020, in an acute care hospital in Tokyo, Japan. We found that the median time from admission to MRSA bacteremia onset was 26 days, which is longer than that observed in western countries however similar to that in South Korea. Furthermore, our cohort was older than those in the United States and South Korea, potentially contributing to the higher number of years of life lost in Japan. These results underscore the need to develop strategies to reduce hospitalization rates in Japan. Larger multicenter studies are needed to comprehensively evaluate the economic and health burdens of MRSA bacteremia in Japan.