Staphylococcus pettenkoferi-positive Blood cultures in Hospitalized Patients in a Multi-site Tertiary Center

Staphylococcus pettenkoferi (S.pettenkoferi), originally described in Germany in 2002 by Trülzsch et al, is a coagulase negative staphylococcus whose clinical relevance is yet to be determined. With about 10 case reports in the literature from several parts of the world, there is no data on S. pettenkoferi infection from the United States. This is a retrospective cohort study of 80 patients ≥ 18 years of age who had at least 1 S. pettenkoferi-positive blood culture, identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight at a tertiary academic center in Detroit, Michigan. We describe the features of S. pettenkoferi-positive blood cultures in order to identify cases of true bacteremia. The mean age of the cohort was 66 ± 16 years and 1 out of 3 had immunosuppressing conditions. No case of true S.pettenkoferi bacteremia was identified. More studies are needed to determine its role as a pathogen in the United States.