A Case of Corynebacterium jeikeium Septicemia

Kang, S G; Tak, W J; Kim, D H; Baik, B Y; Kim, M N; Pai, C H; Kim, T W

Abstract

Corynebacterium jeikeium is the most important species of Corynebacterium next to C. diphtheriae in the clinical laboratory. Although it should be the most commonly encountered Corynebacterium species isolated from blood and other normally sterile body fluids, there has been no report of a C. jeikeium septicemia to date in Korea. Because Corynebacterium species is usually considered as conterments and not identified to species level, C. jeikeium infection can probably be underestimated. To our knowledge, this is the first report of C. jeikeium septicemia in Korea. A lymphoma patient who had been undergone a few course of chemotherapy via Hickman catheter was admitted with high fever. His blood culture repeatedly grew a Corynebacterium species resistant to all antibiotics tested except vancomycin. The isolate was identified as Corynebacterium species by Vitek GPI (bioMerieux, France) and showed lipophilic growth in brain heart infusion broth supplemented with 1% Tween 80, It was identified as C. jeikeium by RapID CB Plus (Innovative Diagnostic, Norcross, Ga). Corynebacterium species repeatedly isolated from blood, CSF, and other body fluids that are normally sterile should be identified to species level, and C. jeikeium is to be suspected for a multiresistant rod susceptible only to vancomycin.