Gram Positive Cocci Flashcards
There are 5 factors to take into consideration when assessing a pt for infection
Epidemiology of pathogen
Patient risk factors
Pre-analytics (factors before a sample is analyzed)
Analytics (how the sample is analyzed)
Post-analytics (how the analysis is reported
Which analytics step has the highest rate of errors?
Pre-analytics; analytics and post-analytics are lab controlled while pre- is not
What is the most important pre-analytic factor for getting an accurate result?
Volume
What does gram staining help with?
Guides workup and tx
What are the 3 types of media used in analytics of bacteria?
Enriched
Selective
Differential
What are the 3 types of hemolysis patterns?
⍺
β
γ
What colour is the staining associated with ⍺ hemolysis staining pattern?
Greening
What colour is the staining associated with β hemolysis staining pattern?
Clearing around the colonies
What colour is the staining associated with γ hemolysis staining pattern?
No hemolysis
What 3 things are looked at in analytics of a blood agar plate?
Hemolysis patterns
Colour of colonies
Shape of colonies
What are the 4 testing methods for determining the type of bacteria?
Biochemical testing (manual or commercial MALDI-TOF)
Serology
PCR
Antimicrobial susceptibility testing
What determines the shape of a bacteria?
The shape of its cell wall determines if it’s coccus, rod, or spiral
What is the coagulase test?
Tests for the coagulase enzyme that bacteria use to form a fibrin capsule around themselves to avoid phagocytosis
Describe what a positive coagulase test looks like
Clotted or clumping is seen
Is S. Aureus part of normal flora?
Yes; skin and nasal cavity
This is the reason for doing MRSA nose swabs
What is virulence?
How pathogenic an organism is and is determined by various factors
What type of host-bacteria relationship does S. Aureus demonstrate? (Flora/colonizer, opportunistic, pathogen)
Opportunistic pathogens
This bacteria is a leading cause of bacteremia
S. Aureus
Describe the gram stain of S. Aureus
Gram (+), Coccoid, clusters of grapes
What media are used for identifying S. Aureus?
Blood agar and mannitol salt agar
Why is mannitol salt agar used for S. Aureus?
Selective and differential agar
Selective: high salt inhibits most other bacteria
Differential: fermentation of mannitol by S. Aureus —> ↓ pH —> colour change in agar
What is the hemolysis pattern of S. Aureus?
Β-hemolytic; white-gold
What biochemical tests are positive for S. Aureus? (Catalase, coagulase slide, coagulase tube)
Catalase POS
Coagulase slide POS
Coagulase tube POS
What is the minimum inhibitory concentration?
Lowest drug concentration needed to inhibit visible growth of colonies
At least 90% of isolates of this bacteria make penicillinase
S. Aureus
This mobile genetic element —> MRSA
mecA
How does mecA create MRSA?
mecA is a genetic element that encodes PBP-2A protein that binds penicillins
How are antibiotics selected for S. Aureus?
Abx therapy based on infection site, severity of infection, and probability of resistance
What 4 groups of antibiotics is MRSA intrinsically resistant to?
β lactam combo drugs
Oral cephems
Most cephalosporins
Carbapenems
What antibiotics is MRSA susceptible to?
Ceftaroline/Ceftobiprole (directly binds PBP-2a)
TMP-SMX, clindamycin, doxycycline, vanco, linezolid, daptomycin
Dapto is last resort
Is S. Lugdunensis part of normal flora?
Yes; skin
This bacteria causes infections similar to S. Aureus
S. Lugdunensis
What are the differences in biochemical testing between S. Aureus and S. Lugdnensis?
S. aureus is positive in catalase and coagulase (tube and slide)
S. Lugdenensis is negative on coagulase tube
What is S. Lugdnensis susceptible to?
β lactam combo drugs
Oral cephems
Most cephalosporins
Carbapenems
MSSA is also susceptible to these
When is contamination of sample suspected instead of pathogen?
When 1/4 of bottles in blood culture yield a bacteria
This bacteria is responsible for CA-UTIs commonly in 16-35F in late summer
S. Saprophyticus
This enzyme allows S. Saprophyticus to invade the bladder wall
Urease
What does a positive urease test look like?
Indicator (phenol red) turns from yellow-orange to pink-red
That causes the colour change in the urease test?
Urease enzyme will break down urea into ammonia and CO2
Ammonia is alkaline —> indicator turning pink-red in response to alkaline env
What is the treatment for S. Saprophyticus?
Nitrofuratoin, TMP-SMX, Cephalexin
There are 2 β-hemolytic streptococci
Group A streptococci — S. Pyogenes
Group B streptococci — S. Agalactiae
Streptococcus in this group show no hemolysis or ⍺-hemolysis
Viridans group strep
What are some clinical diseases associated with group A strep?
Acute pharyngitis
Scarlet fever (exotoxin producing strains)
Acute rheumatic fever
Toxic shock syndrome
Skin infections (pyoderma, impetigo, cellulitis)
Necrotizing fasciitis (polymicrobial; GAS almost always present)
Group A strep diagnostics?
Gram stain
Media
Morphology
Gram (+), coccoid pairs/chains
Blood agar media to grow
Β-hemolytic, white
What is the first line therapy for Group A strep?
Penicillin (macrolide if allergic)
What inhibits opsonization of group A strep?
M-protein
Is Group A part of normal flora?
Yes; skin and throat
Like the S. Aureus of strep
Is Group B strep part of normal flora?
Yes; GI and urogenital tract
This bacteria is found colonizing in 30% of maternal urogenital tracts and has a 50% chance of transfer to the newborn
Group B strep
How is transfer of maternal Group B strep to the newborn prevented?
Penicillin (macrolide if allergic) is given 24-48hrs before delivery to clear the GBS
Not permanent, GBS will re-establish
How is screening for GBS done in pregnancy?
Rectal swab at 36-38 wks, placed into clear broth that turns orange if GBS is present
List the bacteria for which AST is usually not done and are treated empirically instead
S. Saprophyticus
Group A Strep (S. Pyogenes)
Group B Strep (S. Agalactiae)
This bacteria is the main cause of meningitis in people >3mo
S. Pneumoniae
What are some clinical diseases are associated with S. Pneumoniae?
Meningitis
Otitis media
Sinusitis
Lower reps tract infection
Empyema
This bacteria is the main cause of community acquired pneumonia
S. Pneumoniae
This biochemical test can help determine with confidence that a suspected bacteria is S. Pneumoniae
Bile solubility - positive
This means the colony will lyse in a bile salt plate. May leave behind an imprint
This bacteria has different breakpoints in MIC for dosing
S. Pneumoniae
This bacteria is less virulent than S. Pneumoniae and can cause deep tissue abscesses. It is commonly seen with anaerobic bacteria
S. Anginosus
What antibiotics are used for S. Anginosus?
Penicillin or Ceftriaxone
What clinical diseases are associated with e. Faecium and e. Faecalis?
Bacteremia
Endocarditis
UTIs
Enterococcus spp. have a lot of intrinsic resistances, which include:
Most cephalosporins
Β-lactams
Aminoglycosides
Clindamycin
Ertapenem
Septra
95% of E. Faecalis is susceptible to this drug but <5% of e. Faecium are susceptible
Ampicillin
What are the therapy options for e. Faecalis and e. faecium?
Synergistic β-lactams + aminoglycosides
Vanco
Cipro
Fosfomycin
Nitrofurantoin
Daptomycin
Linezolid
What is the most common enterococci in clinical infections?
e. Faecalis
Which enterococci is commonly associated with VRE?
e. Faecium