ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To report a corneal infection due to Corynebacterium propinquum identified using the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) method. METHODS: A 94-year-old woman presented with suppurative keratitis. Her ocular history included Fuchs corneal dystrophy, corneal transplantation, and glaucoma. A gram-stained smear revealed coryneforms. Colonies on bacterial culture media were assayed by MALDI-TOF. RESULTS: Identification of C. propinquum was confirmed by RNA polymerase ß subunit (rpoB) gene sequencing. The patient was treated with topical cefazolin, gentamicin, and fluorometholone, and her vision improved to 20/160 unaided when last seen. CONCLUSIONS: MALDI-TOF can correctly identify isolates that are both uncommon and difficult to distinguish from related species. The ease and low running costs of this method will improve the laboratory diagnosis of ocular infections.
Subject(s)
Corneal Ulcer/diagnosis , Corynebacterium Infections/diagnosis , Corynebacterium/isolation & purification , Eye Infections, Bacterial/diagnosis , Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization , Aged, 80 and over , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Cefazolin/therapeutic use , Corneal Ulcer/drug therapy , Corneal Ulcer/microbiology , Corynebacterium/genetics , Corynebacterium Infections/drug therapy , Corynebacterium Infections/microbiology , DNA-Directed RNA Polymerases/genetics , Drug Therapy, Combination , Eye Infections, Bacterial/drug therapy , Eye Infections, Bacterial/microbiology , Female , Fluorometholone/therapeutic use , Genes, Bacterial/genetics , Gentamicins/therapeutic use , HumansABSTRACT
In this case report, we describe the first instance of septicemia caused by an obligately anaerobic Staphylococcus aureus in a human. A 45-year-old man presented with septicemia, septic arthritis, and multiple pulmonary abscesses, which were caused by an obligately anaerobic S. aureus. The clinical and microbiological features that led to the diagnosis are discussed. Genotyping cannot at present reliably separate S. aureus subsp. aureus from S. aureus subsp. anaerobius, but phenotypic characteristics suggest that the present isolate is a previously undescribed strain of anaerobic Staphylococcus aureus.
