{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,2]],"date-time":"2026-05-02T01:40:16Z","timestamp":1777686016991,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":46,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"5","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1777420800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"EU NextGenerationEU through the Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Slovak Republic","award":["09I03-03-V04-00769"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["09I03-03-V04-00769"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Antibiotics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background\/Objectives: Staphylococcus aureus is one of the leading causes of bacterial infection-related mortality worldwide, with outcomes complicated by antimicrobial resistance; asymptomatic colonization (~30% of the population) increases the risk of subsequent infection, often with the colonizing strain. Comprehensive data from LMICs are lacking, and the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly influenced the incidence and epidemiology of S. aureus infections, highlighting a critical data gap in Slovakia. Methods: We conducted data analysis using the KNIME Analytics Platform (Zurich, Switzerland), an open-source, visual workflow environment that facilitates integration, preprocessing, and advanced analysis. This study analyzed 5 years of data from routine laboratory diagnostics extracted from the laboratory information system (LIS). Results: Our data reveals that the incidence of multidrug-resistant S. aureus, including MRSA, increased during 2020\u20132022\u2014particularly in surgical departments, where MDR MRSA infection reached up to 12.5 per 1000 discharges\u2014and remained elevated into the post-pandemic period (2023\u20132025). In contrast, MSSA incidence was consistently higher overall, with colonization rates reaching up to 71 per 1000 discharges in non-surgical departments, and was predominantly driven by colonization rather than infection. Conclusions: This study provides essential insights into the use of big data analytics platforms. Identified gaps, such as information about the difference between colonization vs. infection, and their implementation in the future, together with whole-genome sequencing, set a foundation for epidemiological research purposes in Slovakia.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics15050443","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]],"date-time":"2026-04-29T07:43:51Z","timestamp":1777448631000},"page":"443","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Monitoring the Burden of Staphylococcus aureus: A Multi-Year Retrospective Study Using Routine Laboratory Data from a Slovak Hospital"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5518-5952","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Andrej","family":"Minich","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"MediXbank, n.o., Novoz\u00e1mock\u00e1 1\/67, 949 05 Nitra, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Sabaka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, \u0160pit\u00e1lska 24, 813 72 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Vladim\u00edr","family":"Heger","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Heger s.r.o., Do\u013eany 398, 900 88 Do\u013eany, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rudolf","family":"Kubi\u010dka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Neoxx JSC, Ru\u017eov\u00e1 dolina 8, 821 09 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Peter","family":"Mihalov","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, \u0160pit\u00e1lska 24, 813 72 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"J\u00e1n","family":"Jurenka","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University in Bratislava, \u0160pit\u00e1lska 24, 813 72 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"\u013dubom\u00edr","family":"Soj\u00e1k","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Hospital Bratislava, Limbov\u00e1 5, 831 01 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Juliana","family":"Pa\u0161kov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Hospital Bratislava, Limbov\u00e1 5, 831 01 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"\u013dubica","family":"Slim\u00e1kov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"University Hospital Bratislava, Limbov\u00e1 5, 831 01 Bratislava, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Romana Kaliankov\u00e1","family":"Chovanov\u00e1","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MediXbank, n.o., Novoz\u00e1mock\u00e1 1\/67, 949 05 Nitra, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Michal","family":"Kajsik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"MediXbank, n.o., Novoz\u00e1mock\u00e1 1\/67, 949 05 Nitra, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,29]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e606","DOI":"10.1016\/S2666-5247(24)00040-5","article-title":"Staphylococcus aureus Colonisation and Strategies for Decolonisation","volume":"5","author":"Piewngam","year":"2024","journal-title":"Lancet Microbe"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"603","DOI":"10.1128\/CMR.00134-14","article-title":"Staphylococcus aureus Infections: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Clinical Manifestations, and Management","volume":"28","author":"Tong","year":"2015","journal-title":"Clin. 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