Characters of coagulase-negative staphylococci and micrococci from cases of endocarditis

Strains of coagulase-negative staphylococci and micrococci submitted to a reference laboratory from 137 cases of endocarditis over a 5 year period were reviewed. Staphylococcus epidermidis biotype 1 (SII) was the commonest biotype in all groups of patients but exceeded 80 per cent in the 61 patients who had undergone prosthetic valve surgery and the 16 patients who had undergone other forms of surgery. Biotype 4 (SVI) was recovered from 10 of the 34 patients without surgery. Strains from prosthetic valve endocarditis were frequently resistant to many antibiotics while strains from natural valve endocarditis were frequently sensitive to all, or resistant only to penicillin. The value of bacteriophage typing was confirmed.