Emergence of Vancomycin Resistance in Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci

COAGULASE-negative staphylococci have been11 increasilgly recognized as causative agents in sevel l types of infection, including nosocomial bacteremia and infection of indwelling devices, such as prosthetic hea t valv1 , 2 2 a d neurosurgical and arteriovenous shunt3 , 4 4 Coagulase-negative staphylococci are also the most common agents responsible for peritonitis in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysi5 6 7 8 9 10 Until recentl, beta-lactamase-stable penicillins we e regarded as t e treatmen s f choi e f r staphylococcal infections. Unfortunately, 35 t66 6 percent of clinically important coagulase-negative staphylococcal isolates are currently resista t o methicilli11 12 13 14 15c As a result, vancomycin has beco e the . . .