Molecular characterization and antibiotic susceptibilities of ocular isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis

Nineteen isolates of Staphylococcus epidermidis from patients with ocular i nfections were analyzed. Patients were selected in retrospect, by choosing cases in which S. epidermidis was the sole isolate. Twelve different patter ns were obtained after hybridization with a probe with high-level homology to insertion sequences found in S. epidermidis. Susceptibilities to penicil lin, methicillin, gentamicin, tetracycline, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, va ncomycin, and teicoplanin were determined. Six strains were resistant to th ree or more antibiotics.