Ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) Shunt CSF: Staphylococcus epidermidis –Shipped 02 November 2015
HISTORY
A simulated CSF specimen collected from 31 year old inpatient with hydrocephalus and ventriculo-peritoneal (VP) shunt was sent to category A laboratories.
Participants were expected to isolate and identify the isolate minimally as a coagulase negative staphylococcus or more definitively as Staphylococcus epidermidis. Laboratories were not expected to perform antimicrobial susceptibility testing for this challenge.
MAIN EDUCATIONAL POINTS from M153-4
- The isolation of an organism normally considered normal skin flora such as coagulase negative staphylococci should not be disregarded in the patient with the history of an implanted prosthetic device.
