Table 1.

Comparison of MRSA and MSSA bacteremia in patients with cancer

Characteristic	MRSA (n=10)	MSSA (n=42)	P
Age (median; years)	7.1	5.2	0.87
Male sex	5	25	0.73
AA race	5	10	0.13
Fever (Temp >38.3°C)	7	35	0.38
Complications	4	13	0.71
Patients with persistently positive blood cultures	5	3	0.004
Catheter removal	6	5	0.003
Resistance to erythromycin	8	7	0.0003
Resistance to gentamicin	2	0	0.03
PVL-positive isolates	5	4/37	0.01
Type IV SCC mec	5/5	N/A

NOTE. Data are no. (%) of patients, unless otherwise indicated. MRSA, methicillin-resistant S. aureus; MSSA, methicillin-sensitive S. aureus; AA, African-American; ANC, absolute neutrophil count; PVL, Panton-Valentine Leukocidin; N/A, Not applicable; P values derived by the exact chi-square test.