Central line associated bloodstream infections in the NICU: Does vancomycin-intermediate heteroresistance of coagulase-negative Staphylococcus matter?

Objective: To determine whether the duration of bacteremia among patients in the NICU, as well as risk of thrombocytopenia, differed between those with a central line associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI) due to a hetero-resistant vancomycin-intermediate Staphylococcus epidermidis (hVISE) and those whose CLABSI was due to vancomycin-susceptible S. epidermidis (VSSE). Methods: This retrospective cohort study covering the period from November 2009 through April 2014 examined records for 114 patients with coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) CLABSI from two tertiary-care NICUs in Quebec. Results: Of 111 patients included in the final analysis, 98 had an hVISE infection. The median duration of bacteremia was 4 days (range 0–33 days) for patients with hVISE and 4 days (range 2–8 days) for patients without hVISE. The duration of bacteremia was not significantly different between those with and without hVISE infection (B=−0.56, 95% CI −2.76 to 1.65). Further, the risk of thrombocytopenia for patients with...