Phenotypic differences between coagulase-negative staphylococci isolated from seminal fluid of healthy men and men suffering from chronic prostatitis syndrome.

Chronic prostatitis syndrome (CPS) is a common urologic condition that many clinicians find difficult to diagnose and treat effectively. The most common causative agents of CPS among Gram-positive bacteria are coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS). We compared phenotypic properties among CNS isolated from semen of healthy men and patients with CPS. A significantly higher proportion of CPS strains demonstrated inhibition of lysozyme and platelet microbicidal protein. Identifying these phenotypic characteristics in clinical laboratories would be helpful to differentiate which staphylococcal bacteriospermia case should be treated and which should not.