Drug susceptibility and clonality of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus epidermidis in hospitalized patients with hematological malignancies.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the clonal relatedness and drug susceptibility of Streptococcus epidermidis isolated from hematological patients.


METHODS
All S. epidermidis isolated from hematological patients who developed bloodstream infections between June 2005 and December 2007 were included. The clonal relationship was tested by means of pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis.


RESULTS
Fifteen methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) isolates were examined from patients' blood culture samples. Two subgroups that differed approximately by 40% in their PFGE banding were identified. In clinical practice, two cases were cured with cephalosporin only, thus demonstrating sensitivity of the strains to beta-lactam antibiotics.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results represent two significant findings. One is the major capability of MRSE to colonize patients. The other is that some MRSE isolates proved to be sensitive to clindamycin, minocycline, and cephalosporin, so that using antibiotics to which MRSE is sensitive as first-line therapy can avoid the need for vancomycin in clinical settings.
Nomura
K
K
Division of Hematology and Oncology, Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, Iwate Medical University, Uchimaru 19-1, Morioka, 020-8505, Japan. nomuken@koto.kpu-m.ac.jp
Mizumachi
E
E
Yamashita
M
M
Ohshiro
M
M
Komori
T
T
Sugai
M
M
Taniwaki
M
M
Ishida
Y
Y
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D016521:Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field; D005260:Female; D005798:Genes, Bacterial; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D016106:Methicillin Resistance; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D013212:Staphylococcus epidermidis / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification
D002511:Cephalosporins; D017931:DNA Primers