Molecular characterization of CoNS isolates
Four staphylococcal species were successfully identified among the 18
CoNS isolates, namely S. epidermidis (n = 9), S.
haemolyticus (n = 2), S. hominis (n = 1), andS. lugdunensis (n = 1), and five isolates were
unclassified; 16 isolates were methicillin resistant (Table 3).
Methicillin-resistant S. epidermidis (MRSE) was the predominant
species that belonged to seven distinct STs: ST2, ST22, ST57, ST173,
ST226, ST490, and ST810. Of the nine MRSE isolates, two carried multiple
SCCmec types, and the predominant SCCmec type was type IV.
For the S. haemolyticus isolates, the oxacillin-susceptible
isolate carried mecA and SCCmec type V. Moreover, the
identified S. hominis and S. lugdunensis isolates carried
SCCmec type II from AVG- and TCC-related infections,
respectively, and were methicillin resistant. Among the five
unidentified CoNS isolates, two were methicillin-resistant CoNS
(MR-CoNS) that did not carry mecA . Moreover, of the CoNS
isolates, approximately 66.67% and 33.33% were isolated from
contaminated implant devices and blood culture, respectively.
Nevertheless, this study revealed no correlation between ST and origin
of isolation.