Significance of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcus in Urine

Twenty-six episodes of urinary-tract infection due to coagulase-negative Staphylococci were studied. These represented 16.7% of all urinary-tract infections seen in one clinic over a 21-month period. Some seasonal variation was observed. Some patients were asymptomatic; others had acute pyelonephritis, isolated loin pain or symptoms referable to the lower urinary tract. Coagulase-negative staphylococci frequently multiply in the urinary tract in numbers less than 100,000 per ml; for this reason a careful bacteriologic assessment is essential. To make a rapid diagnosis without use of quantitative bacteriology on multiple voided specimens, it is preferable to obtain urine for culture by the technique of suprapubic bladder aspiration. It is suggested that women infected with this organism should have their urinary tract investigated radiologically at the time of initial presentation.