A study of coagulase-negative staphylococci with reference to slime production, adherence, antibiotic resistance patterns and clinical significance.
Two hundred and fifty-one strains of coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) isolated from patients in hospital and the community were investigated for slime production and adherence as indicators of pathogenicity. Staphylococcus epidermidis formed 68.5% (126) of the isolates of CNS from blood and central venous catheter (CVC) tips, of which 46.0% (58) were slime-positive and adherent. Clinically significant infections were associated with 55.2% (32) of the slime-positive adherent strains isolated and 11.1% (four) of slime-negative non-adherent strains of S. epidermidis. For other species of CNS isolated from blood and CVC tips 74.1% (43) were slime negative non-adherent and 18.6% (eight) of these were considered clinically significant isolates while none of the slime positive adherent strains were associated with a clinically significant infection. Slime production and adherence were not characteristic properties of CNS causing community-acquired urinary tract infection or colonizing the nasal mucosa. It is concluded that slime production and adherence had a limited role in the differentiation between clinically significant and contaminant strains isolated from blood cultures; however, the absence of slime and adherence in isolates of S. epidermidis suggested a lack of pathogenicity.
Public Health Laboratory, Musgrove Park Hospital, Taunton, Somerset, UK.
J W
JW
Jones
R J
RJ
Scott
J
J
Morgan
J V
JV
Pether
D001422:Bacterial Adhesion; D002353:Carrier State / Q000382:microbiology; D003030:Coagulase; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D013045:Species Specificity; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000145:classification / Q000472:pathogenicity / Q000502:physiology*
D003030:Coagulase