Peritoneal dialysis (PD) peritonitis and subsequent relapses are undesirable complications for patients requiring home peritoneal dialysis. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) remain a common cause of peritonitis. Strains of CoNS are emerging that are resistant to cephalosporins. It has been suggested that, if sensitivity testing shows resistance to cephalosporin but the patient is improvin...

The role of coagulase in staplhylococcal infections is tincertain. It has been clemonstrated(1) that coagulase-negative hemolytic staphylococci wllen treated witlh coagulase and injected intracerebrally into mice exlhibit a higlher degree of virulence than the same organisms without treatment with coagulase. Other workers(2,3) have also found an association of coagtulase with virulence. However...

IntroductionCoagulase negative Staphylococcus (CoNS), being a part of the commensal flora, have long remained neglected as mere contaminants till their recently reported increased rate of isolation, evidenced their potential as nosocomial pathogens. Treatment is difficult due to confusion in pathogenecity and multi-drug resistance. Aim of the study was to to identify the different species of Co...

Coagulase negative staphylococci (CoNS) are important opportunistic pathogens. Staphylococcus epidermidis, a coagulase negative staphylococcus, is the third leading cause of nosocomial infections in the US. Surface proteins like Microbial Surface Components Recognizing Adhesive Matrix Molecules (MSCRAMMs) are major virulence factors of pathogenic gram positive bacteria. Here, we identified a ne...

One hundred and fifteen patients with chronic blepharitis were compared with 47 normal controls. Six clinically distinct groups of blepharitis were observed: staphylococcal; seborrhoeic, alone, with associated staphylococcal superinfection, meibomian seborrhoea, or secondary inflammation of the meibomian glands; and meibomian keratoconjunctivitis (MKC). Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in app...

AIMS The epidemiological assessment of cases of coagulase negative staphylococcal catheter related bloodstream infection. METHODS Two hundred and thirty patients with suspected catheter related bloodstream infection were evaluated over a two year period. Central venous catheters were cultured both endoluminally and extraluminally. Peripheral blood, catheter hubs, skin entry, and skin control ...

A multiplex PCR assay for detection of the staphylococcal mecA gene (the structural gene for penicillin-binding protein 2a) was compared with agar dilution and disk diffusion susceptibility test methods for identifying methicillin resistance. The multiplex PCR assay combined two primer sets (mecA and 16S rRNA) in a single reaction. A total of 500 staphylococcal isolates (228 isolates of Staphyl...