Heteroresistant Vancomycin Intermediate Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus in the NICU: A Systematic Review

Context: NICUs in the province of Québec have seen an increase in hVICoNS, detected in the clinical laboratory.

Objective: To investigate the clinical relevance of hVICoNS on the course of infection, and to determine the prevalence of hVICoNS sepsis in the NICU.

Methods: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and PubMed from 1 January 1980 to 1 July 2016. Both observational and interventional studies were considered eligible if they provided data on hVICoNS in the NICU population. Two investigators independently reviewed studies for data extraction. Data extracted included: number of CoNS cultures, prevalence of hVICoNS, and clonality of strains.

Results: Of the 613 studies identified, 19 studies were reviewed, and 5 studies included in the final review. No studies addressed the clinical significance of hVICoNS in the NICU. The prevalence of hVICoNS in the NICU varied greatly, ranging from 2.3% to 100%.

Limitations: Publication bias could not be assessed, and risk of bias in some of the included studies due to small sample size and poor methods reporting. The quality of all included studies was low according to GRADE criteria, and the inclusion criteria restricted to either English or French studies.

Conclusions: Our review suggests that heteroresistance to vancomycin is much more common than previously believed. Our search however did not identify any studies that explicitly assessed any clinical implications of hVICoNS infections, thereby highlighting the need for research to assess the true impact of hVICoNS infection and to determine its significance on patient mortality and morbidity in the NICU.