Actinomyces turicensis causing Urinary Tract Infection in Nephrotic Syndrome Patient- A Case Report

Abstract

ABSTRACT Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) are one of the most common bacterial infections which accounts for significant cost to health care and it is one of the important cause of bacteremia. Escherichia coli remain the most common causative agent followed by Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis and Enterococcus species. Actinomyces turicensis (A. turicensis) belongs to the family Actinomycetaceae. It is a rare pathogen and an infrequent cause of UTI. The author highlights one such case of a 42-year-old male with history of Nephrotic Syndrome (NS) presented with complaints of fever, dysuria and loose stools for three days. He was on treatment with corticosteroids for a long time. A. turicensis was isolated from urine of this patient as a single pathogen on culture and was found to be sensitive to Ampicillin, Ciprofloxacin, Cotrimoxazole and Nitrofurantoin. The patient responded well to Metronidazole and ampicillin and was discharged. The pathogenic importance of this organism cannot be undermined and should not be ignored in such cases who are on corticosteroids or any immunosuppressive drugs.

Keywords

• actinomycetaceae
• bacteremia
• kidney disorder