Staphylococcus hominis cellulitis and bacteremia associated with surgical clips

O Uddin; J Hurst; T Alkayali; S A Schmalzle

doi:10.1016/j.idcr.2022.e01436

Staphylococcus hominis cellulitis and bacteremia associated with surgical clips

IDCases. 2022 Feb 1:27:e01436. doi: 10.1016/j.idcr.2022.e01436. eCollection 2022.

Authors

O Uddin¹, J Hurst², T Alkayali³, S A Schmalzle^{1

2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ University of Maryland School of Medicine, 655 W Baltimore Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, United States.
² University of Maryland Medical Center, Department of Medicine, 22 South Greene St, Baltimore, MD 21201, United States.
³ University of Maryland Medical Center, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Disease, 22 South Greene St, Baltimore, MD 21201, United States.
⁴ Institute of Human Virology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 725 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, United States.

Abstract

Streptococcus spp. and Staphylococcus aureus are the most common pathogens causing skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI). Guideline-recommended empiric antibiotics targeting these organisms would also treat coagulase negative Staphylococci, which are not typically considered skin and soft tissue pathogens. Coagulase negative Staphylococci are, however, well known for their propensity to cause indolent infections in the setting of prosthetic material. Here, we present a case of a patient with surgical clips from a femoral artery surgical repair one year prior, presenting with cellulitis at the prior surgical site, complicated by high-grade Staphylococcus hominis bacteremia. Signs of infection persisted after 4 days of appropriate antibiotic therapy and resolved rapidly upon non-steroidal anti-inflammatory administration. This case highlights the importance of recognizing coagulase negative Staphylococci as a possible etiology of cellulitis in patients with prosthetic material, and of considering anti-inflammatory medications as a supplement to antibiotic therapy to hasten resolution of cellulitis in appropriate patients.

Keywords: Bacteremia; Cellulitis; Coagulase negative Staphylococci; Foreign body; Staphylococcus hominis.

Publication types

Case Reports