Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) are frequently isolated from wound infections. There are limited data examining the prevalence of methicillin-resistant CoNS (MRCoNS) among Egyptian patients after surgery. Thus, we studied 208 hospitalised patients, who had skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) due to various causes. Samples were cultured for isolation and identification of CoNS and isolates were screened for susceptibility against 23 different antimicrobials. Out of 241 Staphylococcal isolates, 114 (47.3%) were CoNS. The prevalence of MRCoNS among surgical site infection, diabetic foot, abscess, and burn patients was 13.4%, 11.5%, 15.6%, and 10.3%, respectively. The lowest resistance of the 27 identified MRCoNS isolates was to vancomycin, amikacin and gatifloxacin (7% each). We conclude that CoNS isolates are major pathogens associated with wound infections at our institution and MRCoNS probably poses a substantial threat for patients in Egypt, though most MRCoNS isolates demonstrated susceptibility to vancomycin.
Keywords: Antimicrobial resistance; CoNS; Egypt; Staphylococci; prevalence; wound infection.