Enterococcus faecium can be associated with urinary tract infections and wound infections.
Urinary tract infections: Enterococcus faecium is less commonly encountered in UTIs than E. faecalis but poses greater treatment challenges due to its multidrug resistance, including vancomycin-resistant strains (VRE). It is primarily associated with nosocomial infections and often colonizes the urinary tract in immunocompromised individuals. Its detection is important for infection control and antimicrobial stewardship (Codelia-Anjum et al. 2023, Hourigan et al. 2024, Arias & Murray 2012).
Wound infections: Enterococcus faecium is another significant enterococcal species in wound infections, especially in hospital-acquired and chronic wound settings. It is frequently multidrug-resistant, including strains resistant to vancomycin (VRE), making treatment more complex. E. faecium can colonize open wounds and surgical sites, especially in immunocompromised patients. Its inclusion in wound PCR panels allows for early detection and isolation precautions when necessary to limit nosocomial transmission (CDC 2019, Melo et al. 2021).
Codelia-Anjum, A., Lerner, L. B., Elterman, D., Zorn, K. C., Bhojani, N., & Chughtai, B. (2023). Enterococcal Urinary Tract Infections: A Review of the Pathogenicity, Epidemiology, and Treatment. Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland), 12(4), 778.
Hourigan, D., Stefanovic, E., Hill, C., & Ross, R. P. (2024). Promiscuous, persistent and problematic: insights into current enterococcal genomics to guide therapeutic strategy. BMC microbiology, 24(1), 103.
Arias CA, Murray BE. The rise of the Enterococcus: beyond vancomycin resistance. Nat Rev Microbiol. 2012 Mar 16;10(4):266-78. doi: 10.1038/nrmicro2761. PMID: 22421879; PMCID: PMC3621121.
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CDC. Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2019
Melo, L. D. R., Ferreira, R., Costa, A. R., Oliveira, H., & Azeredo, J. (2021). Author Correction: Efficacy and safety assessment of two enterococci phages in an in vitro biofilm wound model. Scientific reports, 11(1), 11008.
