Staphylococcus capitis

Staphylococcus capitis is a coagulase-negative species (CoNS) of Staphylococcus. It is part of the normal flora of the skin of the human scalp, face, neck, and ears and has been associated with prosthetic valve endocarditis, but is rarely associated with native valve infection. CoNS produce a slimy biofilm enabling them to adhere to medical devices such as prosthetic valves and catheters and makes them difficult to remove by patient immune response to antibiotic therapy. As native flora of the skin and mucous membranes, they may be introduced anytime these are punctured, i.e. at the time of device placement, venipuncture, or through breaks in the mucous membrane or skin. CoNS species, such as S. epidermidis and S. capitis, are recorded as the most common cause of prosthetic valve endocarditis. S. capitis, fortunately, has a lower propensity to antibiotic resistance and also produces less biofilm than many other CoNS. This improves chances of successful eradication of S. capitis in periprosthetic infections (as total knee and total hip arthroplasty infections) relative to other CoNS such as S. epidermidis .