2021 Jul 18. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2021 Jan–.
ABSTRACT
Staphylococcus epidermidis is a coagulase-negative, gram-positive cocci bacteria that form clusters. It is also a catalase-positive and facultative anaerobe. They are the most common coagulase-negative Staphylococcus species that live on the human skin. In its natural environments such as the human skin or mucosa, they are usually harmless. Many times, these coagulase-negative staph species invade the human body via prosthetic devices, at which point a small number of microbes travel down the prosthetic device to the bloodstream. The bacteria, then, can produce biofilms that help to protect them from host defense or antimicrobials.
The belief is that Staphylococcus epidermidis is one of the most common causes of nosocomial infection, with infection rates as high as those of Staphylococcus aureus.