Biofilm Formation in Staphylococcus epidermidis Isolated from Hospitalized Patients

Abstract

Background: Staphylococcus epidermidis as a typical opportunist pathogen is responsible for major nosocomial infections, and has a substantial impact on human life and health. Studies have shown that its main virulence factor is the ability to form biofilms on polymeric surfaces to which it adheres and colonize. The biofilms protect microorganisms such as Staphylococcus epidermidis against the action of antibiotics administered for the treatment of infections and against the patient's immune system. Methods: In the current study, 50 isolates of S. epidermidis were characterized and subjected to biofilm detection by the microtiter plate (MTP), Congo red agar (CRA), and PCR methods. Antibiotic resistance was assessed by the disk diffusion method. The clinical source of S. epidermidis was as follows: blood (n = 20, 40%), urine (n = 4, 8%), wound (n = 8, 16%), catheter (n = 10, 20%), and pus (n = 8, 16%). Results: The current study showed that all the isolates were susceptible to nitrofurantoin, vancomycin, and Synercid and all were resistant to penicillin. Moreover, 68% of the isolates were biofilm-positive by CRA and 76% by MTP methods. Finally, 72% of the isolates showed icaA genes. Conclusions: The pathogenic determinants of S. epidermidis are very complex, multifactorial, and dependent on numerous genetic and environmental factors. Other genes that may contribute to pathogenicity are also involved in biofilm formation in S. epidermidis that need to be studied in more accurate molecular assays.

Incidence of Coagulase Negative Staphylococci in Various Clinical Samples in Tertiary Care Hospital, Nepal

“…Other factors include adhesion molecules, exoenzymes, antibiotics, modulins, delta toxins Fey 2014, Michal et al 2020). Formation of biofi lms result in persistent infections which cannot be cured easily with standard antibiotic treatments (Hasanvand et al 2019), due to slow diffusion of conventional antibiotics through the extracellular polymeric substance (Sheikh 2019) and often leads to removal of the foreign body for cure (Hasanvand et al 2019). Studies have supported that CoNS have precise features and an antimicrobial susceptibility pattern (Kürekci 2016).…”

To determine antimicrobial susceptibility and biofilm production among coagulase negative staphylococci at a tertiary care hospital

“…The ability to form biofilms appears to play an essential role in staphylococcal virulence. 4 Biofilms usually result in persistent infections that cannot be easily resolved with standard antibiotic treatments, 5 due to slow diffusion of conventional antibiotics through the extracellular polymeric substance 6 and often leads to removal of the foreign body for cure. 5 Therefore, the biofilm formation ability and the resistance to antimicrobial therapy can be intimately related.…”

“…4 Biofilms usually result in persistent infections that cannot be easily resolved with standard antibiotic treatments, 5 due to slow diffusion of conventional antibiotics through the extracellular polymeric substance 6 and often leads to removal of the foreign body for cure. 5 Therefore, the biofilm formation ability and the resistance to antimicrobial therapy can be intimately related. 2 There by these posing a major challenge for the physicians as these isolates can result in untreatable conditions 7 along with economic relevance as well.…”