Corynebacterium striatum is Not Just a Contaminant: Experience with Antibiotic Treatment of Spondylodiscitis in an Immunocompetent Adult
Shi-Mei Huang,1,* Shuang Wang,2,3,* Su-Fei Pan,1 Yuan-Yuan Zhang,1 Ji-Liang Wang2,3 1Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, Dongying, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Central Laboratory, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, Don...
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Dove Medical Press
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Infection and Drug Resistance |
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| author | Huang SM Wang S Pan SF Zhang YY Wang JL |
| author_facet | Huang SM Wang S Pan SF Zhang YY Wang JL |
| author_sort | Huang SM |
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| description | Shi-Mei Huang,1,* Shuang Wang,2,3,* Su-Fei Pan,1 Yuan-Yuan Zhang,1 Ji-Liang Wang2,3 1Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, Dongying, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Central Laboratory, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, Dongying, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 3Dongying Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Dongying, Shandong, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ji-Liang Wang, Department of Central Laboratory, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, No. 31 Jinan Road, Dongying, Shandong, 257034, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-0546-8779266, Email zxyywjl@163.comBackground: Corynebacterium striatum is a commensal skin agent rarely described as a cause of infective spondylodiscitis. In this study, we report the first case of an infected patient who was successfully treated with conservative measures.Case Presentation: A 54-year-old immunocompetent patient presented with progressive low back pain that had persisted for 1 month. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed abnormal signals in the L4–L5 vertebrae, indicating lumbar spine infection. Laboratory investigations revealed elevation of the serum C-reactive protein level and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Blood and disc biopsy tissue cultures produced cream-colored round raised colonies on blood agar plates, which were identified as C. striatum using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and 16S rRNA sequencing. Based on the antibiotic sensitivity test results, vancomycin and linezolid were sequentially administered to treat C. striatum infection; however, this strategy proved ineffective after 12 days. Despite delayed symptomatic treatment, the patient was successfully treated with a 2-week course of linezolid based on the use of amikacin to control other pathogens.Conclusion: C. striatum can cause discitis in patients without any medical or surgical complications. The infection was successfully treated with anti-infective agents, providing empirical information on spinal infections.Keywords: C. striatum, spondylodiscitis, conservative treatment, spinal infections |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-9e16b23e995e4ff3bbf7cf1607794658 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1178-6973 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Dove Medical Press |
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| series | Infection and Drug Resistance |
| spelling | doaj-art-9e16b23e995e4ff3bbf7cf16077946582025-08-20T03:44:01ZengDove Medical PressInfection and Drug Resistance1178-69732025-08-01Volume 18Issue 138673873105445Corynebacterium striatum is Not Just a Contaminant: Experience with Antibiotic Treatment of Spondylodiscitis in an Immunocompetent AdultHuang SM0Wang S1Pan SF2Zhang YY3Wang JL4Department of Clinical LaboratoryDepartment of Clinical LaboratoryDepartment of Clinical LaboratoryDepartment of Clinical LaboratoryDepartment of Clinical LaboratoryShi-Mei Huang,1,* Shuang Wang,2,3,* Su-Fei Pan,1 Yuan-Yuan Zhang,1 Ji-Liang Wang2,3 1Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, Dongying, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Central Laboratory, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, Dongying, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 3Dongying Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Dongying, Shandong, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ji-Liang Wang, Department of Central Laboratory, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, No. 31 Jinan Road, Dongying, Shandong, 257034, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-0546-8779266, Email zxyywjl@163.comBackground: Corynebacterium striatum is a commensal skin agent rarely described as a cause of infective spondylodiscitis. In this study, we report the first case of an infected patient who was successfully treated with conservative measures.Case Presentation: A 54-year-old immunocompetent patient presented with progressive low back pain that had persisted for 1 month. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed abnormal signals in the L4–L5 vertebrae, indicating lumbar spine infection. Laboratory investigations revealed elevation of the serum C-reactive protein level and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Blood and disc biopsy tissue cultures produced cream-colored round raised colonies on blood agar plates, which were identified as C. striatum using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and 16S rRNA sequencing. Based on the antibiotic sensitivity test results, vancomycin and linezolid were sequentially administered to treat C. striatum infection; however, this strategy proved ineffective after 12 days. Despite delayed symptomatic treatment, the patient was successfully treated with a 2-week course of linezolid based on the use of amikacin to control other pathogens.Conclusion: C. striatum can cause discitis in patients without any medical or surgical complications. The infection was successfully treated with anti-infective agents, providing empirical information on spinal infections.Keywords: C. striatum, spondylodiscitis, conservative treatment, spinal infectionshttps://www.dovepress.com/corynebacterium-striatum-is-not-just-a-contaminant-experience-with-ant-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IDRC. striatumSpondylodiscitisConservative treatmentSpinal infections |
| spellingShingle | Huang SM Wang S Pan SF Zhang YY Wang JL Corynebacterium striatum is Not Just a Contaminant: Experience with Antibiotic Treatment of Spondylodiscitis in an Immunocompetent Adult Infection and Drug Resistance C. striatum Spondylodiscitis Conservative treatment Spinal infections |
| title | Corynebacterium striatum is Not Just a Contaminant: Experience with Antibiotic Treatment of Spondylodiscitis in an Immunocompetent Adult |
| title_full | Corynebacterium striatum is Not Just a Contaminant: Experience with Antibiotic Treatment of Spondylodiscitis in an Immunocompetent Adult |
| title_fullStr | Corynebacterium striatum is Not Just a Contaminant: Experience with Antibiotic Treatment of Spondylodiscitis in an Immunocompetent Adult |
| title_full_unstemmed | Corynebacterium striatum is Not Just a Contaminant: Experience with Antibiotic Treatment of Spondylodiscitis in an Immunocompetent Adult |
| title_short | Corynebacterium striatum is Not Just a Contaminant: Experience with Antibiotic Treatment of Spondylodiscitis in an Immunocompetent Adult |
| title_sort | corynebacterium striatum is not just a contaminant experience with antibiotic treatment of spondylodiscitis in an immunocompetent adult |
| topic | C. striatum Spondylodiscitis Conservative treatment Spinal infections |
| url | https://www.dovepress.com/corynebacterium-striatum-is-not-just-a-contaminant-experience-with-ant-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-IDR |
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