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.