Colonization of the tip of a thoracic catheter by Enterococcus faecalis resistant to vancomycin and linezolid.

Author(s): Cian F, Luzzati R, Deiana ML, Ferrantelli N, Tonin E, Lagatolla C, Dolzani L

Affiliation(s): Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Universita di Trieste, Trieste, Italy. franca.cian@aots.sanita.fvg.it

Publication date & source: 2009-08, J Med Microbiol., 58(Pt 8):1118-21. Epub 2009 Jun 15.

Publication type: Case Reports

We report the isolation of Enterococcus faecalis resistant to vancomycin and linezolid from the tip of a thoracic drainage catheter in an elderly patient. He was treated with vancomycin for a pleural empyema due to a meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus but never received linezolid. A surveillance rectal swab yielded both linezolid-susceptible and -resistant strains, and the two isolates were not genotypically related. Careful monitoring for linezolid-resistance is critical to avoid potential therapy failure and transmission of resistant E. faecalis.