P242 Small colony variants of Staphylococcus aureus often exhibit a mucoid phenotype in the airways of people with cystic fibrosis

Abstract

In a recent multicenter study, we determined the prevalence (cross-sectional) and the persistence of mucoid Staphylococcus aureus in people with cystic fibrosis (pwCF) in a one-year prospective study: from 41 of 451 S. aureus-positive pwCF from 13 centers (9.1%) mucoid S. aureus was cultured (unpublished observation). SCVs have been shown to be associated with more severe lung disease. It is not known whether mucoid isolates also exhibit the small colony variant (SCV) phenotype. Therefore, we analyzed the study isolates according to the SCV phenotype.