Characterizing Staphylococcus lugdunensis Infections

Isolation of Staphylococcus lugdunensis from clinical specimens was usually predictive of infection; most infections were community acquired and followed a benign clinical course.

Although Staphylococcus lugdunensis usually lives harmlessly on the skin, it can cause life-threatening infections. When it — or any other coagulase-negative Staphylococcus — is recovered from a clinical specimen, infection must be distinguished from colonization. In a recent study, researchers examined the microbiological features of S. lugdunensis isolates collected at one Taiwan hospital and the clinical characteristics of the patients from whom the isolates were recovered. Cases in which S. lugdunensis was the only (or predominant) pathogen from wound or pus culture, or was recovered from sterile body fluid or the bloodstream, were included in the investigation.

Between 2005 and 2009, 59 S. lugdunensis isolates were collected from 57 pat…

Reviewing Author

Larry M. Baddour, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesUpToDate, Inc. (Authorship duties)

Larry M. Baddour, MD

Disclosures

RoyaltiesUpToDate, Inc. (Authorship duties)