Clinical presentation, treatment, and antimicrobial susceptibility of 155 sequential Staphylococcus lugdunensis infections

• Published in: Microbiology spectrum Vol. 13; no. 4; p. e0274924
• Main Authors: Palumbo, Kurt D., Jacko, Natasia F., David, Michael Z.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Society for Microbiology 01.04.2025
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; antimicrobial resistance; bacteremia; Child; Child, Preschool; Epidemiology; Female; Humans; Male; Microbial Sensitivity Tests; Middle Aged; Research Article; skin and soft tissue infection; Staphylococcal Infections - drug therapy; Staphylococcal Infections - epidemiology; Staphylococcal Infections - microbiology; Staphylococcal Infections - pathology; Staphylococcus lugdunensis; Staphylococcus lugdunensis - drug effects; Staphylococcus lugdunensis - isolation & purification; Tertiary Care Centers; United States - epidemiology; Young Adult; United States; epidemiology; skin and soft tissue infection; Staphylococcus lugdunensis; antimicrobial resistance; bacteremia
• ISSN: 2165-0497; 2165-0497
• DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.02749-24

In recent years, Staphylococcus lugdunensis has been identified with increasing frequency as a human pathogen causing a wide variety of clinical syndromes, from soft tissue infections to fatal cases of bloodstream infection. Despite this, there are few large-scale epidemiologic studies examining this highly virulent organism. Our study adds to the growing literature on this emerging pathogen by analyzing a large case series of sequential S. lugdunensis infections at four U.S. hospitals to define its contemporary epidemiology, including the types of infections it causes, their outcomes, treatment approaches, and antimicrobial susceptibilities. These data provide valuable insights for clinicians in diagnosing and treating patients with these often debilitating infections. The findings also improve upon our understanding of the incidence of each infection syndrome and variability in antimicrobial susceptibilities of isolates to guide the design of future studies on the genomic epidemiology of this important pathogen.