Evaluation of Biofilm Formation and Prevalence of Multidrug-Resistant Strains of Staphylococcus epidermidis Isolated from Neonates with Sepsis in Southern Poland

Abstract

Staphylococcus epidermidis strains play an important role in nosocomial infections, especially in the ones associated with biofilm formation on medical devices. The paper was aimed at analyzing the mechanisms of antibiotic resistance and confirming the biofilm-forming ability among S. epidermidis strains isolated from the blood of hospitalized newborns. Genetic analysis of resistance mechanism determinants included multiplex PCR detection of mecA, ermA, ermB, ermC, msrA, and mef genes. Biofilm analysis comprised phenotypic and genotypic methods including Christensen and Freeman methods and PCR detection of the icaADB gene complex. Among the tested S. epidermidis strains, 89% of the isolates were resistant to methicillin, 67%—to erythromycin, 53%—to clindamycin, 63%—to gentamicin, and 23%—to teicoplanin, while all the strains were susceptible to vancomycin and linezolid. The mecA gene was detected in 89% of the isolates, the ermC gene was the most common and present among 56% of the strains, while the msrA gene was observed in 11% isolates. Eighty-five percent of the strains were described as biofilm-positive by phenotypic methods and carried the icaADB gene cluster. Multidrug resistance and the biofilm-forming ability in most of the strains tested may contribute to antimicrobial therapy failure (p < 0.05).

Decreased susceptibility to vancomycin and other mechanisms of resistance to antibiotics in Staphylococcus epidermidis as a therapeutic problem in hospital treatment

“…86% of these tested strains were methicillin-resistant, of which 39% were resistant to at least four antibiotics. This problem is also pointed out in works of other researchers in which the percentage of methicillin-resistant strains was comparable to that we observed or even higher 38 – 40 . The strains tested in our investigations were mostly resistant to erythromycin, cefoxitin, gentamicin, and clindamycin and the values were the following: 60%, 56%, 48%, 43% respectively.…”

“…Macrolide resistance was the most common. A similar result was reported by Skiba-Kurek et al 38 . Of the 100 of S. epidermidis strains they tested, 67% were resistant to erythromycin.…”

Frequency and Molecular Characterization of Staphylococcus aureus from Placenta of Mothers with Term and Preterm Deliveries

“…However, in the case of preterm isolates, four mecA and two PVL genes were isolated. Furthermore, the study of Skiba et al, 2021, reported a relatively higher percentage (89%) of the mecA gene prevalence in MRSA isolates in preterm patients [31]. Interestingly two isolates were negative for both PVL and mecA gene, suggesting the poor association of isolated MRSA with hospital-acquired MRSA.…”

A new approach to overcoming antibiotic-resistant bacteria: Traditional Chinese medicine therapy based on the gut microbiota

“…Staphylococcus epidermidis is a microbiota that usually lives on the surface of normal human skin, and is generally not pathogenic, but can be accompanied by molecular materials entering the human body under special circumstances such as interventional treatment, and can also cause sepsis after invading blood circulation, causing serious consequences ( Skiba-Kurek et al., 2021 ). KANNAPPAN also did the same in vivo research on Staphylococcus epidermidis, and under the treatment of different combinations of geraniol and cefotaxime, it can effectively inhibit the formation of BF by pathogens ( Kannappan et al., 2019 ).…”