Lab Med Online.  2019 Jul;9(3):181-184. 10.3343/lmo.2019.9.3.181.

The First Case of Otitis in Korea Caused by Brevibacterium otitidis

• Mun SH
• Lee AJ
• Kim SG
• Jeon CH
• Park CG
• Suh HS

• KMID: 2450845
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3343/lmo.2019.9.3.181

Abstract

Brevibacterium spp. are gram-positive rods that are considered to be strictly nonpathogenic, and a very few cases of their infection in humans have been reported. In this study, we report a case of otitis caused by Brevibacterium otitidis. A 53-year-old woman, who visited the hospital, complained of symptoms, such as otorrhea from both ears, ear fullness, tinnitus, and hearing impairment, for several months. Ear discharge was cultured on blood agar for pathogen identification. Bacteria from the isolated colony were initially identified as Actinomyces odontolyticus by VITEK 2 (bioMerieux, France), whereas VITEK® MS (bioMerieux, France) identified them as Brevibacterium luteolum. Subsequently, bacteria from the isolated colony were confirmed as B. otitidis by 16S rRNA sequencing. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing confirmed their sensitivity to vancomycin and linezolid and resistance to clindamycin and penicillin. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of otitis caused by B. otitidis in Korea.

Keyword

Brevibacterium otitidis; 16S Ribosomal RNA; Otitis

MeSH Terms

Actinomyces
Agar
Bacteria
Brevibacterium*
Clindamycin
Ear
Female
Gram-Positive Rods
Hearing Loss
Humans
Korea*
Linezolid
Middle Aged
Otitis*
Penicillins
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Tinnitus
Vancomycin
Agar
Clindamycin
Linezolid
Penicillins
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S
Vancomycin

Figure

• 

  Fig. 1. Images of microscopic findings and colony morphology of Brevibacterium otitidis. (A) Gram staining of ear discharge observed under 1,000× shows many neutrophils and gram-positive v-shaped or rod shaped diplobacilli. (B) Growth of yellowish, smooth, circular colonies on blood agar plate.

Reference

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