title: Catheter-related Staphylococcus aureus infections.
abstract: Among 3394 patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia from the years 1986-89, 88 patients were found whose intravenous catheter and blood grew organisms of the same phage type. Strains of phage type 95 were more frequent among the patients with confirmed catheter-related bacteraemia than among other bacteraemia cases. Strains with particular phage-type patterns occurring with increasing frequency in Denmark during recent years also occurred with significantly higher frequencies among the confirmed catheter-related bacteraemias. No major differences in antibiotic resistance were observed. Patients with catheter-related bacteraemia had, in spite of a higher frequency of underlying diseases, a lower mortality compared with other bacteraemia patients, and endocarditis occurred less frequently (2% vs. 6%). Among 201 S. aureus isolates from catheters in 1988 only strains of group I occurred with increased frequency. The possible role of catheters as selection pressure on the S. aureus population is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Staphylococcus Laboratory, Statens Seruminstitut, Denmark.
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Knudsen
authors.forename: V T
authors.initials: VT
authors.lastname: Rosdahl
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Espersen
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Frimodt-Møller
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Skinhøj
authors.forename: M W
authors.initials: MW
authors.lastname: Bentzon
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000382:microbiology; D001434:Bacteriophage Typing; D002404:Catheterization / Q000009:adverse effects*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003718:Denmark; D004352:Drug Resistance, Microbial; D004866:Equipment Contamination; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification