Colonization of the tip of a thoracic catheter by Enterococcus faecalis resistant to vancomycin and linezolid

J Med Microbiol. 2009 Aug;58(Pt 8):1118-1121. doi: 10.1099/jmm.0.008334-0. Epub 2009 Jun 15.

Abstract

We report the isolation of Enterococcus faecalis resistant to vancomycin and linezolid from the tip of a thoracic drainage catheter in an elderly patient. He was treated with vancomycin for a pleural empyema due to a meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus but never received linezolid. A surveillance rectal swab yielded both linezolid-susceptible and -resistant strains, and the two isolates were not genotypically related. Careful monitoring for linezolid-resistance is critical to avoid potential therapy failure and transmission of resistant E. faecalis.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Acetamides / pharmacology*
  • Aged
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology*
  • Catheterization / adverse effects*
  • Drug Resistance, Multiple, Bacterial*
  • Enterococcus faecalis / drug effects*
  • Enterococcus faecalis / physiology
  • Humans
  • Linezolid
  • Male
  • Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus
  • Oxazolidinones / pharmacology*
  • Staphylococcal Infections / drug therapy
  • Vancomycin / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Acetamides
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Oxazolidinones
  • Vancomycin
  • Linezolid