TABLE 3.
Metastatic disease caused by S. epidermidis 1457 and its isogenic ΔluxS mutant in the rat CVC-associated infection modelb
| Organ |
S. epidermidis 1457 (n = 15)
|
S. epidermidis 1457 ΔluxS mutant (n = 15)
|
P value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. rats infected/total | Median (range) CFU/g tissue | No. rats infected/total | Median (range) CFU/g tissue | ||||
| Livera | 4/15 | 0 (0-66,000) | 11/15 | 333 (0-2,216,667) | 0.0164 | ||
| Kidneya | 5/15 | 0 (0-308,000) | 9/15 | 2,000 (0-3,673,333) | 0.1002 | ||
| Hearta | 3/15 | 0 (0-66,667) | 6/15 | 0 (0-1,140,000) | 0.2195 | ||
| Blooda | 3/10 | 0 (0-130) | 8/11 | 460 (0-10,980) | 0.0154 | ||
| Tubea | 2,050 (1,750-3,050) | 4,525 (2,050-7,600) | 0.1084 | ||||
| Infection rateb | 27.5 ± 2.8% | 61.5 ± 7.8% | 0.0064 | ||||
a
The difference in results among liver, kidney, heart, blood, and tube between the two strains was assessed by a Wilcoxon test.
b
The overall infection rate is defined as recovery of S. epidermidis from the blood, catheter, or organs at the time of sacrifice. The P value for the infection rates of the mutant versus the wild type was 0.0064. The difference of infection rate between the two strains was assessed by a two-tailed t test.