Subacute Bacterial Endocarditis Caused by Cardiobacterium hominis: A Case Report

Abstract

Cardiobacterium hominis, a member of the HACEK group of organisms, is an uncommon but important cause of subacute bacterial endocarditis. First-line therapy is a third-generation cephalosporin due to rare beta-lactamase production. The authors report a case involving endovascular infection due to C hominis that initially tested resistant to third-generation cephalosporins using an antibiotic gradient strip susceptibility method (nitrocephin negative), but later proved to be susceptible using broth microdilution reference methods (a ‘major’ error). There are limited studies to guide susceptibility testing and interpretive breakpoints for C hominis in the medical literature, and the present case illustrates some of the issues that may arise when performing susceptibility testing for fastidious organisms in the clinical microbiology laboratory.