Background: Toxic-shock syndrome (TSS) is an acute onset; multiorgan disease caused mainly by Toxic-shock syndrome toxin-1 (TSST-1) producing Staphylococcus aureus strains.Testing for TSST-1 or anti-TSST-1 antibodies in the clinical setting may help to predict and prevent the appearance of TSS caused by nosocomial S. aureus infection.
Objectives: Detection of TSST-1 in the sera of children patients arranged to undergo surgical operations, and its relevance with certain demographic factors.
Patients and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Baquba General Teaching Hospital- Diyala province for the period from August 2015 to April 2016. Eighty eight patients from those undergoing surgical operations were enrolled. The age range was 1-14 years. Thirty one (35.2%) were males and fifty seven (64.8%) were females. Human privacy was respected by taking patient’s consensus. Venous blood samples were collected aseptically; the sera were separated and kept frozen till use. Serum samples were investigated for the presence of TSST-1 using ELISA technique. Statistical analyses were done using SPSS version 18. P value less than 0.05 was considered significant.
Results: The results showed that the overall detection rate of TSST-1 among children undergoing surgeries was 44.3%. It was insignificantly higher among younger age group, females, and ruralizes. According to the type of surgery, the detection rate was higher among those patients with fractures (10.2%), followed by patients with burns (9.1%), but it failed to reach the levels of statistical significant.
Conclusion: About one half of children patients undergoing surgical operations are infected with TSST-1 producing S. aureus.
