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Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci Overview
Resistance to this important nosocomial pathogen and culture contaminant is steadily declining
BACKGROUND
Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are a broad group of species that commensally inhabit the human skin, mucous membranes (S. hominis, S. epidermidis), and vaginal tract (S. saprophyticus). Although they are less virulent than the coagulase-positive S. aureus and almost never pathogenic in healthy individuals, their persistence on hospital surfaces and devices has made them the most common source of bloodstream infections. Overlooked in the past because they primarily contaminated cultures, CoNS have emerged as a clinically relevant pathogen implicated in up to 30% of health care–associated sepsis.
Because CoNS resistance to methicillin and other beta-lactam antibiotics is encoded by the same transferable gene as in S. aureus, colonization with strains carrying the gene may act as a reservoir of MRSA in the community. Furthermore, infections are frequently not susceptible to multiple drugs, necessitating the use of vancomycin. Recent increases in intermediate resistance to this drug of last resort are worrisome because of limited treatment options.
TRENDS BY U.S. CENSUS DIVISION: CoNS
