Association of Slime Production and Antibiotic Resistance of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci

Abstract

The relation between antibiotic resistance and slime productions of 74 coagulase-negative staphylococci that were isolated from clinical specimens, was evaluated. In all kinds of samples, S. epidermidis (75%) was the most frequently isolated strain. The incidence of resistance to Methicillin was 37.8%. Beta lactamase production was defected in 75.7% of the strains. Extracellular slime was produced by 18.9% of the strains. The association between slime production and resistance against gentamicin, rifampin, ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin was statistically significant (p < 0.01). All strains were susceptible to vancomycin. In conclusion; slime production may play a role in the antibiotic resistance. When selecting an antibiotic for coagulase-negative staphylococcal infections one should remember the high rate of beta lactamase activity and methicillin resistance.