Korean J Clin Microbiol.  2003 Sep;6(2):164-167.

A case of Small Colony Variants (SCVs) of Staphylococcus aureus from Sputum of a Patient with Chronic Renal Failure

• Lee HS
• Cho YK
• Kim DS
• Choi SI

Abstract

Recently, small colony variants (SCVs) of Staphylococcus aureus causing fatal infections are increasing, but rarely reported in Korea. S. aureus, SCVs are slow growing subpopulation that cause persistent and relapsing infections. S. aureus, SCVs are frequently auxotrophic for hemin, menadione, and CO2, and are often disrupted in their electron transport activity. With S. aureus, SCVs virulence is altered by a decrease in -toxin production and susceptibility to various antibiotics, allowing their intracellular survival. We isolated S. aureus, SCVs from the sputum of a 67 year old male with pneumonia, chronic renal failure with hemodialysis and preventive antibiotic therapy. Because S. aureus, SCVs are easily missed or misdiagnosed as normal flora in routine culture due to their atypical growth behavior and biochemical reaction, the correct identification is very important, especially when no bacteria or unusual bacteria are found in patients with persistent or relapsing infections with long term antibiotic therapy.

Keyword

S. aureus; Small colony variants; SCVs

MeSH Terms

Aged
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Bacteria
Electron Transport
Hemin
Humans
Kidney Failure, Chronic*
Korea
Male
Pneumonia
Renal Dialysis
Sputum*
Staphylococcus aureus*
Staphylococcus*
Virulence
Vitamin K 3
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Hemin
Vitamin K 3