Role of coagulase-negative staphylococci in human disease

Abstract

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are normal inhabitants of human skin and mucous membranes. They have long been dismissed as culture contaminants, but now the potentially important role of CNS as pathogens and their increasing incidence has been recognized. Approximately 55-75% of nosocomial isolates is methicillin resistant. CNS were the first organisms in which glycopeptide resistance was recognized. In the immunocompetent host, CNS endocarditis and urinary tract infections with Staphylococcus saprophyticus are the most common CNS infections. Other patients are usually immunocompromised, with indwelling or implanted foreign bodies. CNS account for approximately 30% of all nosocomial blood stream infections. The majority of these concern catheter-related sepsis. Other important infections due to CNS include central nervous system shunt infections, endophthalmitis, surgical site infections, peritonitis in patients with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis and foreign body infections. CNS are rarely associated with mastitis in humans. Staphylococcus lugdunensis is more pathogenic than other CNS as it expresses several potential virulence factors. The distinction between clinically significant, pathogenic and contaminating isolates is a major problem. Several studies show clonal intra and inter hospital spread of Staphylococcus epidermidis strains which suggests that infection control measures may be necessary for multiresistant CNS isolates as for methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus. As a result of medical progress, mainly due to the use of invasive and indwelling medical devices, CNS are now a major cause of nosocomial and health-care related infections. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

An evaluation of serum gentamicin concentrations and bacterial susceptibility to gentamicin in equine practice

“…However, difficulties and incomplete knowledge in determining such clinical relevance led to inclusion of all isolates, necessitating that clinicians judge those isolates that are more or less likely to represent pathogens. For example, although coagulase‐negative Staphylococci are commonly regarded as non‐pathogenic, there clearly are clinical circumstances in which they may act as pathogens 28. Additionally, given the retrospective nature of our clinical study, it proved difficult to determine with reasonable certainty that any isolates could be conclusively dismissed as contaminants.…”

Staphylococcal cassette chromosome mec typing and mecA sequencing in methicillin-resistant staphylococci from Algeria: a highly diversified element with new mutations in mecA

“…Since 1970, CNS have been recognized as aetiologic agents of a wide range of infections, including bacteraemia, central nervous system shunt infection, endocarditis, urinary tract infection, surgical site infections, endophthalmitis, foreign body infection and many other infections. Most frequently, patients with CNS infections are immunocompromised, with indwelling or implanted foreign bodies (Piette & Verschraegen, 2009;Becker et al, 2014a).…”

Detection of genes encoding for enterotoxins, TSST-1, and biofilm production in coagulase-negative staphylococci from bovine bulk tank milk

“…CNS are, usually, present on human and animal skin and mucous membranes, and they are easily isolated from environmental samples (Michael 2004;Piette and Verschraegen 2009;Seo et al 2008). In dairy cattle, CNS were expected to be saprophytic or rarely pathogenic; however, they are often associated with subclinical udder infections, characterized by an increase of somatic cell in milk and in a decreased production (Bendahou et al 2008;Lüthje and Schwarz 2006;Resch et al 2008;Tenhagen et al 2006;Zell et al 2008).…”