Predominant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from various skin diseases

We examined predominant Staphylococcus aureus isolated from lesions of vari ous skin diseases, and during the past 3 years, 113 methicillin-sensitive a nd 31 methicillin-resistant S. aureus have been isolated. The predominant s pecies isolated from almost all of the primary bacteriological cultures was S. aureus. The skin diseases from which cultures were most frequently prep ared were atopic dermatitis, followed by ulcers. S. aureus was the predomin ant species in two-thirds or more of cases of all of the different skin dis eases examined. The predominant species identified, other than S. aureus, i ncluded Streptococcus species and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Evaluation of the predominance of S. aureus is important to the determination of the severit y of skin lesions and, if needed, appropriate antimicrobial therapy.