Staphylococcus lugdunensis: An emerging cause of ventriculoperitoneal shunt infections

Staphylococcus lugdunensis, a coagulase-negative staphylococcus first descr ibed in 1988, has gained recognition as an organism with considerable patho genic capability in adults. In contrast to the indolent presentation charac teristic of other coagulase-negative staphylococci, S. lugdunensis infectio ns resemble the aggressive behavior of Staphylococcus aureus. Although the organism has been isolated from a wide variety of infections in adults, it is a very rare cause of pediatric infections. We describe the first two ped iatric patients who developed ventriculoperitoneal shunt infections caused by S. lugdunensis. These cases suggest that coagulase-negative staphylococc i should be identified to the species level and that, if S. lugdunensis is identified, greater morbidity compared to that associated with other coagul ase-negative staphylococcal shunt infections should be anticipated. A longe r course of therapy is recommended for S. lugdunensis infections. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger AG, Basel.