Staphylococcus aureus with decreased susceptibility to glycopeptides in cystic fibrosis patients

We report the isolation of Staphylococcus aureus with decreased susceptibility to glycopeptides in five CF patients and review the clinical and microbiological features of these cases. Three patients presented with pulmonary exacerbation that may be attributed to these strains and two of them were successfully treated using linezolid therapy. Glycopeptide-intermediate S. aureus (GISA) strains isolated in two patients were susceptible to methicillin, while the three other patients harbored methicillin-resistant GISA. Rarely reported in CF, GISA may remain underestimated due to the difficulty of detection, and both clinicians and microbiologists should be aware of the GISA emergence in CF patients’ population.