Repeated Recovery of Staphylococcus saprophyticus From the Urogenital Tracts of Women: Persistence Vs. Recurrence

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to determine whether colonization was persistent or recurrent in a small group of women who had repeated recovery of Staphylococcus saprophyticus from their urogenital tracts. METHODS Paired isolates of S. saprophyticus from each of the study subjects were genotypically typed by plasmid fingerprinting and comparison of chromosomal-DNA restriction fragment-length polymorphism patterns by field-inversion gel electrophoresis (FIGE) and contour-clamped homogenous electric-field (CHEF) electrophoresis. RESULTS All isolates of S. saprophyticus from the study subjects were classified as genetically unique by each of the typing methods. CONCLUSIONS The subjects experienced recurrent colonization with different isolates of S. saprophyticus. These findings may have broader implications regarding the pathogenesis and recurrence of S. saprophyticus urinary-tract infection.