Korean J Lab Med.  2006 Apr;26(2):103-106. 10.3343/kjlm.2006.26.2.103.

A Case of Catheter-Related Bacteremia by Arthrobacter woluwensis

• Shin KS
• Hong SB
• Son BR

• KMID: 2238899
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3343/kjlm.2006.26.2.103

Abstract

Arthrobacter woluwensis, a catalase-positive coryneform bacterium recognized as an opportunistic pathogen, was repeatedly isolated from the blood of a 56-year-old male patient with metastatic colon cancer. The isolate was identified by various phenotypic tests and by sequencing analysis of 16S rRNA. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed by E-test; the MICs to vancomcyin, cefotamine, and penicillin were 1.5 microgram/mL, >64 microgram/mL, and 4 microgram/mL, respectively. The patient was treated with vancomycin, and the subclavian catheter, which was presumed to be the source of the infection, was removed. Thereafter, repeated blood cultures did not grow the organism. The infections of human caused by A. woluwensis have not been reported previously in Korea, probably because of the difficulty of identifying Arthrobacter strains by conventional biochemical tests.

Keyword

Arthrobacter woluwensis; Bacteremia; 16S rRNA sequencing

MeSH Terms

Arthrobacter*
Bacteremia*
Catheters
Colonic Neoplasms
Humans
Korea
Male
Middle Aged
Penicillins
Vancomycin
Penicillins
Vancomycin

Figure

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  Fig. 1. Microscopic findings of Arthrobacter woluwensis isolated from the blood culture showing irregularly shaped Gram-positive rods (Gram stain, ×1,000).

Reference

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