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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2009, p. 946-950, Vol. 47, No. 4
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.01024-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Staphylococcus lugdunensis, a Common Cause of Skin and Soft Tissue Infections in the Community

Sidsel Böcher,^1,2* Birgitte Tønning,¹ Robert L. Skov,² and Jørgen Prag¹

Department of Clinical Microbiology, Viborg Hospital, Viborg, Denmark,¹ Staphylococcus Laboratory, Statens Serum Institut, Copenhagen, Denmark²

Received 29 May 2008/ Returned for modification 16 August 2008/ Accepted 9 February 2009

Staphylococcus lugdunensis, a rare cause of severe infections such as native valve endocarditis, often causes superficial skin infections similar to Staphylococcus aureus infections. We initiated a study to optimize the identification methods in the routine laboratory, followed by a population-based epidemiologic analysis of patients infected with S. lugdunensis in Viborg County, Denmark. Recognition of a characteristic Eikenella corrodens-like odor on Columbia sheep blood agar combined with colony pleomorphism and prominent β-hemolysis after 2 days of incubation, confirmed by API-ID-32 Staph, led to an 11-fold increase in the detection of S. lugdunensis. By these methods we found 491 S. lugdunensis infections in 4 years, corresponding to an incidence of 53 per 100,000 per year, an increase from 5 infections per 100,000 inhabitants in the preceding years. Seventy-five percent of the cases were found in general practice; these were dominated by skin abscesses (36%), wound infections (25%), and paronychias (13%). Fifty-six percent of the infections occurred below the waist, and toes were the most frequently infected site (21%). Only 3% of the patients suffered from severe invasive infections. The median age was 52 years, and the male/female ratio was 0.69. Our study shows that S. lugdunensis is a common cause of skin and soft-tissue infections (SSTI) and is probably underrated by many laboratories. S. lugdunensis should be accepted as a significant pathogen in SSTI and should be looked for in all routine bacteriological examinations, and clinicians should be acquainted with the name and the pathology of the bacterium.

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* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Staphylococcus Laboratory, National Center for Antimicrobials and Infection Control, Statens Serum Institut, Artillerivej 5, DK-2300 Copenhagen S, Denmark. Phone: 45 32 68 36 84. Fax: 45 32 68 32 31. E-mail: sbc{at}ssi.dk

Published ahead of print on 25 February 2009.

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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2009, p. 946-950, Vol. 47, No. 4
0095-1137/09/$08.00+0     doi:10.1128/JCM.01024-08
Copyright © 2009, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

This article has been cited by other articles:

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• Hubiche, T., Del Giudice, P., Roudiere, L. (2009). Staphylococcus lugdunensis in Skin Infections: Pathogen or Colonizing Bacterium?. J. Clin. Microbiol. 47: 3057-3057 [Full Text]