Skip to main content
PMC home page
Thorax logoLink to Thorax
. 1980 May;35(5):359–362. doi: 10.1136/thx.35.5.359

Species of coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from catheter tips from open-heart surgery patients.

R Freeman, N Hjersing
PMCID: PMC471291  PMID: 7434286

Abstract

Coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from the tips of catheters used in open-heart surgical patients were classified into species and the results compared with those obtained by speciation of coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated as blood culture contaminants. Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most common species in both populations, but other species occurred more often in the catheter tip group. Staphylococcus saprophyticus was found in 17% of the catheter tip series and was not found at all in the blood cultured contaminants. Species other than S epidermidis, and particularly S saprophyticus, were isolated more often from catheters which had been in situ some days. These findings suggest that speciation of coagulase-negative staphylococci from catheter tips may point to some species being better adapted to colonise and survive on prosthetic materials. In this study such evidence suggested that S saprophyticus might be such a species. It is concluded that if the initial results presented here are confirmed, a more logical approach to the chemoprophylaxis of prosthetic implant surgery would be possible.

Full text

PDF

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. CALLAGHAN R. P., COHEN S. J., STEWART G. T. Septicaemia due to colonization of Spitz-Holter valves by staphylococci. Five cases treated with methicillin. Br Med J. 1961 Mar 25;1(5229):860–863. doi: 10.1136/bmj.1.5229.860. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Freeman R., King B. Analysis of results of catheter tip cultures in open-heart surgery patients. Thorax. 1975 Feb;30(1):26–30. doi: 10.1136/thx.30.1.26. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Freeman R., King B., Hambling M. H. Infective complications of open-heart surgery and the monitoring of infections by the NBT test. Thorax. 1973 Sep;28(5):617–621. doi: 10.1136/thx.28.5.617. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Gutman R. A., Striker G. E., Gilliland B. C., Cutler R. E. The immune complex glomerulonephritis of bacterial endocarditis. Medicine (Baltimore) 1972 Jan;51(1):1–25. doi: 10.1097/00005792-197201000-00001. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Holt R. The classification of staphylococci from colonized ventriculo-atrial shunts. J Clin Pathol. 1969 Jul;22(4):475–482. doi: 10.1136/jcp.22.4.475. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Kloos W. E., Schleifer K. H. Simplified scheme for routine identification of human Staphylococcus species. J Clin Microbiol. 1975 Jan;1(1):82–88. doi: 10.1128/jcm.1.1.82-88.1975. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Maskell R. Importance of coagulase-negative staphylococci as pathogens in the urinary tract. Lancet. 1974 Jun 8;1(7867):1155–1158. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(74)90634-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Meers P. D., Whyte W., Sandys G. Coagulase-negative staphylococci and micrococci in urinary tract infections. J Clin Pathol. 1975 Apr;28(4):270–273. doi: 10.1136/jcp.28.4.270. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Mortensen N. Studies in urinary tract infections. 3. Biochemical characteristics of coagulase-negative staphylococci associated with urinary tract infections. Acta Med Scand. 1969 Jul-Aug;186(1-2):47–51. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Stauffer U. G. 'Shunt nephritis': diffuse glomerulonephritis complicating ventriculo-atrial shunts. Dev Med Child Neurol Suppl. 1970;22(Suppl):161+–161+. doi: 10.1111/j.1469-8749.1970.tb03021.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Thorax are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES