Recovery of vancomycin-resistant gram-positive cocci from pediatric liver transplant recipients

Abstract

Between November 1988 and October 1989, 49 first-time pediatric liver transplant recipients at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh were prospectively monitored for the presence of stool colonization and the development of disease caused by vancomycin-resistant gram-positive cocci (VRGPC). Quantitative stool culturing was done on a weekly basis, and cultures were planted onto a selective medium for VRGPC. Isolates for which the MIC was greater than or equal to 8 were considered resistant to vancomycin. Patients were monitored clinically for the development of infection, and their charts were systematically reviewed for the use of antibiotics. Eighty-six isolates were recovered from 36 of the 49 patients. Enterococcal species were isolated from 31 patients and included Enterococcus gallinarum (n = 28), E. casseliflavus (n = 14), E. faecium (n = 9), E. faecalis (n = 2), E. mundtii (n = 2), and E. durans (n = 1). Stool colonization with vancomycin-resistant enterococci was noted to increase steadily during the first month after transplantation. Only 9 of 31 patients demonstrated clearance of these organisms in serial repeat cultures. Additional isolates of VRGPC included Lactobacillus confusus (n = 13), Lactobacillus spp. (n = 12), and Pediococcus pentosaceus (n = 4). Infection due to VRGPC developed in three patients: a urinary tract infection in two and peritonitis in one. E. faecium was the pathogen in each of these cases. The ranges of MICs of vancomycin were 8 to 32 micrograms/ml for all enterococcal isolates and greater than 128 micrograms/ml for Lactobacillus and Pediococcus isolates. All Lactobacillus and Pediococcus isolates were resistant to teicoplanin, although they were susceptible to daptomycin. All other isolates were susceptible to both teicoplanin and daptomycin. This study demonstrates that stool colonization with VRGPC may be a common and early finding among pediatric liver transplant recipients. However, infection appears to be uncommon.