Prevalence and Clinical Significance of Staphylococcus aureus Small-Colony Variants in Cystic Fibrosis Lung Disease

Abstract

Small-colony variants (SCVs) of Staphylococcus aureus can be isolated from the chronically infected airways of patients suffering from cystic fibrosis (CF). These slow-growing morphological variants have been associated with persistent and antibiotic-resistant infections, such as osteomyelitis and device-related infections, but no information is available to date regarding the clinical significance of this special phenotype in CF lung disease. We therefore investigated the prevalence of S. aureus SCVs in CF lung disease in a 12-month prospective study and correlated the microbiological culture results with the patients' clinical data. A total of 252 patients were screened for the presence of SCVs. The prevalence rate was determined to be 17% (95% confidence interval, 10 to 25%) among S. aureus carriers. S. aureus isolates with the SCV phenotype showed significantly higher antibiotic resistance rates than those with the normal phenotype. Patients positive for SCVs were significantly older (P ‫؍‬ 0.0099), more commonly cocolonized with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P ‫؍‬ 0.0454), and showed signs of more advanced disease, such as lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s (P ‫؍‬ 0.0148) than patients harboring S. aureus with a solely normal phenotype. The logistic regression model determined lower weight (P ‫؍‬ 0.016), advanced age (P ‫؍‬ 0.000), and prior use of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (P ‫؍‬ 0.002) as independent risk factors for S. aureus SCV positivity. The clinical status of CF patients is known to be affected by multiple parameters. Nonetheless, the independent risk factors determined here point to the impact of S. aureus SCVs on chronic and persistent infections in advanced CF lung disease.

Infection Prevention and Control Guideline for Cystic Fibrosis: 2013 Update

“…86,90 SCV strains have been isolated from 8% to 33% of individuals with CF who are infected with S. aureus. [91][92][93] SCV S. aureus are associated with older age, coinfection with P. aeruginosa, lower lung function, 92 and treatment with antibiotics, specifically trimethoprim-sulfamethosoxazole. In vitro, SCV strains can be induced by exoproducts expressed by P. aeruginosa.…”

Haemophilus influenzae and Haemophilus parainfluenza in Cystic Fibrosis: 15 Years Experience

“…The latter organism is regularly involved in chronic lung infections and acute exacerbations in CF patients and has recently been shown to be associated with lower lung function in infants with CF [3,4]. Although generally not regarded as a pathogen, H. parainfluenzae does occasionally cause infections in humans, including pneumonia [5].…”

Multicenter Evaluation of a Modified Cefoxitin Disk Diffusion Method and PBP2a Testing To Predict mecA -Mediated Oxacillin Resistance in Atypical Staphylococcus aureus

“…Similar manufacturer-to-manufacturer differences in the ability of BHI agar to support SCV growth have been observed (9). Furthermore, the medium developed by Precit and colleagues was designed to support the growth of SCV isolated from CF patients, since about one-third of CF isolates are thymidine dependent, and two-thirds are menadione and/or hemin dependent (3,14,15). However, isolates from other sources are less well characterized and may include variants not supported by these supplements (2).…”