From contamination to infective endocarditis —a population-based retrospective study of Corynebacterium isolated from blood cultures

AbstractCorynebacterium is a genus that can contaminate blood cultures and also cause severe infections like infective endocarditis (IE). Our purpose was to investigate microbiological and clinical features associated with contamination and true infection. A retrospective population-based study ofCorynebacterium bacteremia 2012 –2017 in southern Sweden was performed.Corynebacterium isolates were species determined using a matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). Patient were, from the medical records, classified as having true infection or contamination caused byCorynebacterium through a scheme considering both bacteriological and clinical features and the groups were compared. Three hundred thirty-nine episodes of bacteremia withCorynebacterium were identified in 335 patients of which 30 (8.8%) episodes were classified as true infection. Thirteen patients with true bacteremia had only one positive blood culture. Infections were typically community acquired and affected mostly older males with comorbidities. The focus of infection was most often unknown, and in-hospital mortality was around 10% in both the groups with true infection and contamination.Corynebacterium jeikeium andCorynebacterium striatum were significantly overrepresented in the group with true infection, whereasCorynebacterium afermentans was significantly more common in the contamination group. Eight episodes of IE were identified, all of which in patients...
Source: European Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases - Category: Microbiology Source Type: research