Staphylococcus Epidermidis as a Cause of Bacteremia

Abstract

Staphylococcus epidermidis is a biofilm-producing commensal organism found ubiquitously on human skin and mucous membranes, as well as on animals and in the environment. Biofilm formation enables this organism to evade the host immune system. Colonization of percutaneous devices or implanted medical devices allows bacteria access to the bloodstream. Isolation of this organism from blood cultures may represent either contamination during the blood collection procedure or true bacteremia. S. epidermidis bloodstream infections may be indolent compared with other bacteria. Isolation of S. epidermidis from a blood culture may present a management quandary for clinicians. Over-treatment may lead to patient harm and increases in healthcare costs. There are numerous reports indicating the difficulty of predicting clinical infection in patients with positive blood cultures with this organism. No reliable phenotypic or genotypic algorithms currently exist to predict the pathogenicity of a S. epidermidis bloodstream infection. This review will discuss the latest advances in identification methods, global population structure, pathogenicity, biofilm formation, antimicrobial resistance and clinical significance of the detection of S. epidermidis in blood cultures. Previous studies that have attempted to discriminate between invasive and contaminating strains of S. epidermidis in blood cultures will be analyzed.

Pan-genome analysis reveals the molecular basis of niche adaptation ofStaphylococcus epidermidisstrains

“…Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is very common among S. epidermidis isolates and often limits treatment options [31]. Given the clinical importance of AMR in S. epidermidis , we performed a genome-wide analysis of all known AMR genes within our genomic dataset.…”

Pulsed xenon ultraviolet and non-thermal atmospheric plasma treatments are effective for the disinfection of air in hospital blood sampling rooms

“…The bacteria identified in this study include those that often cause nosocomial infections, such as Staphylococcus aureus [31,32]. Yeasts [32], Staphylococcus epidermidis [30,33,34]. Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis are often resistant to multidrug treatment [35,36].…”

The Glucosinolates, A Sulphur Glucoside Family of Mustard Phytochemicals With Diverse Biomedical Application

“…Soils treated with mustard had higher microbial biomass carbon (average of 160mg/kg soil) than fallow treatment (130 mg/kg soil) [239,240] Among these biofilm-forming bacteria, S.aureus and S.epidermidis are most commonly found on cardiovascular devices [256][257][258]. It has been estimated that 40%-50% of prosthetic heart valve infections, and 50%-70% catheter biofilm infections are due to these bacteria [259,260]. Despite the evaluation of a wide range of anti-fouling compounds [255,261,262] improvements are still required in this area, glucosinolates could fill this void.…”