Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1987 Oct;156(4):548-54.
doi: 10.1093/infdis/156.4.548.

Coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from cerebrospinal fluid shunts: importance of slime production, species identification, and shunt removal to clinical outcome

J J Younger, G D Christensen, D L Bartley, J C Simmons, F F Barrett

Coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from cerebrospinal fluid shunts: importance of slime production, species identification, and shunt removal to clinical outcome

J J Younger et al. J Infect Dis. 1987 Oct.

Abstract

We collected and characterized 85 strains of coagulase-negative staphylococci (51 pathogens and 34 contaminants) from cerebrospinal fluid shunts. All isolates were classified by species and characterized by antimicrobial susceptibility and quantitative adherence to plastic tissue culture plates. There were more adherent organisms among pathogens than among contaminants (P less than .01). Species distribution was similar for both groups; however, 20% of the pathogens and none of the contaminants were phosphatase-negative Staphylococcus epidermidis (P less than .05). Resistance to four or more antimicrobial agents was detected in 45% of both groups. Neither species designation nor antimicrobial resistance correlated with clinical outcome. Five (83%) of six infections due to nonadherent (vs. 16 [41%] of 39 due to adherent; P less than .05) coagulase-negative staphylococci were, however, cured with antimicrobial therapy alone. Cure was highly associated with removal of the colonized shunt--38% of infected patients treated with antimicrobial therapy alone were cured, 75% treated with antimicrobial therapy and partial shunt removal were cured, and all treated with antimicrobial therapy and total shunt replacement were cured.

PubMed Disclaimer

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

Publication types

MeSH terms

LinkOut - more resources