ABSTRACT
Staphylococcus aureus is a virulent pathogen that continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality in the antimicrobial era (1). Infection of a vascular catheter by this organism may cause dramatic illness, with bloodstream infection and hematogenous spread to other sites resulting in serious secondary infections such as osteomyelitis, epidural abscess, and endocarditis. Patients with relatively minor predisposing illness occasionally succumb to such lethal infection.
