Clinical and Microbiological Characteristics of 28 Patients with Staphylococcus schleiferi Infection

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the clinical and microbiological characteristics of a series of patients with infection by Staphylococcus schleiferi. Seventy-one isolates were recovered from 36 patients between January 1993 and June 1999 at a tertiary care centre in northern Spain. There were 28 patients with well-documented clinical data. Infection was more frequent in men (89.3%), and more than half of the patients had some degree of immunosuppression, mainly malignant neoplasms. Infection was nosocomial in 22 cases and community-acquired in the remaining cases. Staphylococcus schleiferi was frequently associated with wound infections, mainly surgical-site infections, although unusual types of infections were detected. Infection-related mortality was low. This study highlights the importance of careful identification of Staphylococcus schleiferi in the clinical microbiology laboratory. Due to the documented association of Staphylococcus schleiferi with clinical infections in humans, any isolates of this organism should be assumed to be pathogenic, unless proven otherwise.

Implementation of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization–Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry in Routine Clinical Laboratories Improves Identification of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci and Reveals the Pathogenic Role of Staphylococcus lugdunensis

“…This pathogen expresses a clumping factor, as does S. lugdunensis, and it also displays betahemolysin activity that may be responsible for its erroneous identification as S. aureus in the routine laboratory setting (37,40). Clinical reports that describe infections with this pathogen remain scarce, although they appear unusual in their presentation and severity for a CoNS-mediated infection (40,41).…”

“…This pathogen expresses a clumping factor, as does S. lugdunensis, and it also displays betahemolysin activity that may be responsible for its erroneous identification as S. aureus in the routine laboratory setting (37,40). Clinical reports that describe infections with this pathogen remain scarce, although they appear unusual in their presentation and severity for a CoNS-mediated infection (40,41). The production of a fibrinogen affinity factor might be involved in colonization of the vascular endothelium, one of the primary events in the pathogenesis of infective endocarditis, and its implication has been reported in experimental models of endocarditis (42).…”

Two coagulase-negative staphylococci emerging as potential zoonotic pathogens: wolves in sheep's clothing?

“…Little attention has been paid to S. schleiferi in people outside of reports of outbreaks or individual cases (Freney et al, 1988; Vandenesch et al, 1994; Kluytmans et al, 1998; Hernandez et al, 2001; Kumar et al, 2007; Tzamalis et al, 2013). Although some reports have focused on surgical site infections, including those associated with pacemakers, others demonstrate a wider variety of sources, including wound or eye infections and meningitis (Hernandez et al, 2001; Tzamalis et al, 2013).…”

First report of a left ventricular assist device infection caused by Staphylococcus schleiferi subspecies coagulans: a coagulase-positive organism

“…Various human cases have been described including wound infection, prosthetic infections, and bacteremia (Celard et al, 1997; Da Costa et al, 1998; Freney et al, 1988; Hernandez et al, 2001; Igimi et al, 1990; Kumar et al, 2007; Latorre et al, 1993; Vandenesch et al, 1994). A review of 28 cases in the literature in 2001, reported that all isolates were coagulase negative: 50% of cultures were from wound infections, 19.4% were found in blood cultures, 13.8% from catheter tips, 8.3% from ear exudates, and 5.5% from cerebrospinal fluid.…”

“…A review of 28 cases in the literature in 2001, reported that all isolates were coagulase negative: 50% of cultures were from wound infections, 19.4% were found in blood cultures, 13.8% from catheter tips, 8.3% from ear exudates, and 5.5% from cerebrospinal fluid. Other sites, each with one case, included pleural fluid, corneal exudate, biliary drainage and urine (Hernandez et al, 2001). S. schleiferi is often mistaken for S. aureus as both express clumping factor and heat stable DNase.…”