J Med Microbiol 58 (2009), 1118-1121; DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.008334-0
© 2009 Society for General Microbiology
ISSN 0022-2615
Colonization of the tip of a thoracic catheter by Enterococcus faecalis resistant to vancomycin and linezolid
Franca Cian1,2,
Roberto Luzzati3,
Maria Luisa Deiana2,
Nicoletta Ferrantelli2,
Enrico Tonin1,
Cristina Lagatolla1 and
Lucilla Dolzani1
1 Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Università di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
2 Dipartimento di Medicina di Laboratorio, Struttura Complessa Microbiologia, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
3 Struttura Complessa Malattie Infettive, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Ospedali Riuniti di Trieste, Trieste, Italy
Correspondence
Franca Cian
franca.cian{at}aots.sanita.fvg.it
Received December 9, 2008
Accepted April 9, 2009
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.
Copyright © 2009 Society for General Microbiology.