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Table 1 Previously documented cases of Corynebacterium pulmonary infection

From: Corynebacteria as a cause of pulmonary infection: a case series and literature review

Organism isolated

No. of cases

Age/Sex

Co-morbid conditions

Diagnosis

Methods of Diagnosis

Mortality N (%)

C. accolens [46]

1

72F

DM, myocardial infarction, triple aortic bypass, heart failure

Pneumonia

Bronchoalveolar brush sample. Culture also yielded small numbers of P. aeruginosa

1 (100%)

C. afermentans [19]

1

27F

HIV

Empyema

Pleural fluid and blood culture positive. Sputum culture reported “normal respiratory flora”

0 (0%)

C. jeikeium [10, 22, 23, 47]

5

48F, 28F, 29F, 76M, 77F

2 Acute myelogenous leukemia, 1 Hodgkin’s lymphoma and Acute myelomonocytic leukemia, 1 old pulmonary tuberculosis, and 1 COPD

Pneumonia, (necrosis and hemorrhage in 1 case)

Positive gram stain and culture from 1 post-mortem pneumonia;

4 positive respiratory cultures (including 1 TTA). In 1 case, sputum yielded 106 C. jeikeium, > 107 S. aureus and 103 P. aeruginosa per ml; TTA culture yielded > 108 C. jeikeium, 104 P. aeruginosa, and 103 S. aureus; FNA yielded pure growth of C. jeikeium

4 (80%)

C. macginleyi [28]

1

73F

Metastatic lung adenocarcinoma, chemotherapy, intubated post-bronchoscopy

Ventilator-associated pneumonia

Sputum culture had 105 CFU/mL C. macginleyi

0 (0%)

C. mucifaciens [26]

1

51M

DM

Cavitary pneumonia

Not described

0 (0%)

C. propinquum [14, 48]

4

72F, 79M, 83M, 7F

2 DM, 1 non-Hodgkin’s MALT lymphoma, 2 Rheumatoid arthritis, 2 COPD, 1 ataxia telangiectasia on inhaled corticosteroids

Pneumonia

3 sputum culture; 1 case with bronchial aspirate and broncho-alveolar lavage yielding only C. propinquum and blood culture positive for S. pneumoniae

0 (0%)

C. pseudo-diphtheriticum [12,13,14, 33,34,35,36,37,38, 49,50,51,52,53,54,55]

40

91F, 40M, 79F, 70 M, 71M, 68M, 72M, 70F, 74M, 76F, 83M, 75M, 68M, 76M, 65M, 68F, 64M, 67M, 62M, 66M, 50F, 27F, 68F, 29M, 47M, 41M, 24M, 43M, 34M, 33M, 33M, 43M, 34M, 29M, 30M, 80F, 9F, 59M, 46M, 75M

2 CKD, 3 CHF, 10 COPD, 4 DM, 2 asthma, SLE, 1 Adult T-cell lymphotrophic virus Ab+, 1 tracheostomy, 2 lung cancers, 1 epidermoid carcinoma, 2 autoimmune disorder on steroid therapy, 2 intubations, 1 amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 10 HIV/AIDS, 3 previous tuberculosis, 2 recent Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia, 1 cystic fibrosis

Pneumonia

15 sputum Gram stains, 2 bronchial secretions, 1 bronchial wash; Cultures also yielded fewer numbers of other bacteria: S. aureus (2), H. influenzae (1), S. pneumoniae (3), S. maltophila (1), P. aeruginosa (1), E. cloacae (1)

4 (10%);

9 status unknown, 27 resolved

C. pseudotuberculosis [24, 25]

2

23F, 28M

2 veterinary students (1 known exposure to sick horses)

Pneumonia

TTA or CT guided transthoracic biopsy

0 (0%)

C. striatum [14,15,16,17, 56,57,58]

7

68F, 47F, 28M, 27M, 69M, 58M, 69F

1 DM, 2 HIV/AIDS, 1 alcohol use, 1 COPD, 1 heart transplant, 1 RA on prednisone

6 pneumonia, 1 empyema

2 sputum, 2 BAL cultures (4 × 103 CFU/mL and > 105 CFU/mL), 1 bronchoscopy brush sample, 1 empyema, 1 pleural fluid +1 lung tissue culture

1 (14%)

C. ulcerans [27, 59]

2

78M, 80F

1 Metastatic squamous cell carcinoma of the lung, 1 HTN

Pneumonia

2 positive sputum cultures, 1 confirmed by BAL

2 (100%)

C. urealyticum [60]

1

72M

CHF, COPD

Pneumonia

Transtracheal aspirate

0 (0%)

C. xerosis [20]

1

63M

AML

Pneumonia

BAL culture yielded 105 C. xerosis /mL

1 (100%)

“Aerobic diphtheroids” [61]

1

68M

Heavy smoking history, dental extractions

Empyema

Pleural fluid culture grew only “diphtheroids”

0 (0%)

  1. DM Diabetes Mellitus, HTN Hypertension, HLD Hyperlipidemia, HIV Human Immunodeficiency Virus, CFU colony forming units, COPD Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, RML Right middle lobe of lung, TTA transtracheal aspiration, FNA Fine Needle Aspiration, cx culture, MALT Mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue, CKD Chronic kidney disease, CHF Congestive heart failure, SLE Systemic Lupus Erythematosis, AIDS Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, RA Rheumatoid arthritis, BAL bronchoaveolar lavage