AbstractStaphylococcus aureus (SA) is the major colonizer of the lung of cystic fibrosis (CF) patient during childhood and adolescence. As patient aged, the prevalence of SA decreases and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) becomes the major pathogen infecting adult lungs. Nonetheless, SA remains significant and patients harbouring both SA and PA are frequently found in worldwide cohort. Impact of coinfection remains controversial. Furthermore, co-infecting isolates may compete or coexist. The aim of this study was to analyse if co-infection and coexistence of SA and PA could lead to worse clinical outcomes. The clinical and bacteriological data of 212 Lyon CF patients were collected retrospectively, and patients were ranked into three groups, SA only (n=112), PA only (n=48) or SA plus PA (n=52). In addition, SA and PA isolates from co-infecting patients were tested in vitro to define their interaction profile. Sixty five percent (n=34) of SA/PA pairs coexist. Using univariate and multivariate analysis, we confirm that SA patients have a clinical condition less severe than others, and PA induce a poor outcome independently of the presence of SA. FEV1 is lower in patients infected by competition strain pairs than in those infected by coexisting strain pairs compared to SA mono-infection. Coexistence between SA and PA may be an important step in the natural history of lung bacterial colonization within CF patients.
Exacerbation frequency and clinical outcomes in adult patients with cystic fibrosis
