title: Characterization of coagulase-negative staphylococci from patients with a malignancy compared with those from other sources.
abstract: 170 strains of coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from different patient groups have been characterized: 74% were Staphylococcus epidermidis, 18% S. haemolyticus and 7% S. simulans. There were no differences in rates of isolation of the various species from patients with and without a malignancy. Phage typing was not a useful epidemiological tool, but biotyping was possible using the API Staph system. Slime production, a characteristic said to predispose to colonization of catheters, was found to be most common in S. epidermidis strains.
mesh_terms: D001434:Bacteriophage Typing; D003030:Coagulase / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000382:microbiology*; D009297:Nasal Mucosa / Q000382:microbiology; D010614:Pharynx / Q000382:microbiology; D013210:Staphylococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D013204:Staphylococcus Phages
chemical_list: D003030:Coagulase; D006025:Glycosaminoglycans