Corynebacterium glucuronolyticum causing genitourinary tract infection: Case report and review of the literature. Issue 2 (2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Gherardi, G.; Di Bonaventura, G.; Pompilio, A.; Savini, V.
• Is Part Of: IDCases. Volume 2:Issue 2(2015)
• Page Start: 56
• Page End: 58
• Publication Date: 2015
• Subjects: Communicable diseases -- Periodicals; Communicable Diseases -- Case Reports; Communicable Diseases -- Periodicals; Communicable diseases; Periodicals; 616.9
• DOI: 10.1016/j.idcr.2015.03.001
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2214-2509

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="author" id="abs0005"> <title id="sect0005">Abstract</title> <sec> <p id="spar0005"> <italic>Corynebacterium</italic> species are increasingly recognized as opportunistic pathogens. A growing number of taxonomic studies has yielded a description of numerous new <italic>Corynebacterium</italic> species, such as those related to the urogenital tract, with <italic>Corynebacterium glucuronolyticum</italic> found to be rarely involved in genitourinary tract infections, particularly in male individuals.</p> <p id="spar0010">In this report, we describe a urethritis case caused by <italic>C. glucuronolyticum</italic> in a 37-year-old, apparently healthy male, who complained mild pain in the lower abdomen, with several urinary symptoms. While urethral and semen specimens did not yield positive results for microbiological evaluation, cultures of urine samples revealed the monomicrobial growth on blood-containing media of tiny colonies after 24 h of incubation, clearly evident only after 48 h of incubation under CO<sub>2</sub>-enriched atmosphere. Colonies were identified as <italic>C. glucuronolyticum</italic> both by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight (MALDI-TOF) and 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Oral ciprofloxacin gradually led to clinical improvement and, finally, to a complete recovery, in accordance with microbiological findings. In spite of its infrequent detection, <italic>C. glucuronolyticum</italic> might be a potential urogenital pathogen in males more commonly that what believed, perhaps due to slow growth leading to underrecognition; we suggest therefore to consider the organism in the differential diagnostics of bacterial diseases of the urinary tract.</p> </sec> </abstract>