Staphylococcus intermedius infections: case report and literature review.
Staphylococcus intermedius is part of the normal skin and oral flora of dogs. Case reports of human infections are rare, but the true incidence is unknown because the pathogen is frequently misidentified as Staphylococcus aureus. Reported cases range from soft tissue infections to brain abscess. Most reported cases in humans have been related to dog exposure. We report a case of a 73 year old female with S. intermedius surgical wound infection one month following a left elbow total arthroplasty. This is the first reported human case of S. intermedius infection of a mechanical prosthesis. The presumed source of infection was the patient's dog. The patient was treated with vancomycin, then switched to cefazolin and rifampin once susceptibilities were known. Case reports suggest that patients generally respond well to tailored antibiotics with complete or near-complete recovery. S. intermedius should be included in the differential diagnosis of invasive infection amongst patients with close contact with dogs.
Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA ; Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital, MA.
Nancy
N
Wang
Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA.
Anne M
AM
Neilan
Department of Neurology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA ; Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA ; Department of Infectious Diseases, Massachusetts General Hospital Boston, MA ; Infection Control Department, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA ; Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA.
Michael
M
Klompas
Staphylococcus intermedius; human; infection; pseudintermedius