Carriage of gentamicin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci in patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

Gentamicin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci were found on various sites of the skin of 20 of 27 patients on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). In 12 cases isolates with identical susceptibility patterns could be recovered from the same patients at intervals of 2-8 weeks. In seven of these cases isolates from individuals repeatedly had the same phage type, biotype and plasmid profile and three patients shared such identical strains. The use of plasmid profiles proved to be most satisfactory for epidemiological purposes. It was concluded that out-patients on CAPD may persistently harbour their own gentamicin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococcal strain and that cross-colonization may also occur.