Corynebacterium endocarditis in a patient with a cardiac implantable electronic device

Abstract

Cardiac implantable electronic device (CIED) infections have been rising around the world. Many microorganisms can lead to this disease. Corynebacterium species are catalase-positive Gram-positive bacilli, also known as "diphtheroids" or "coryneform" bacteria, were once almost universally dismissed as contamination when recovered from patients, but they are now increasingly being linked to serious infections and have the ability to form biofilms and rarely cause CIED infections and this can be complicated as infective endocarditis. Corynebacterium spp. are frequently overlooked as contaminants in blood cultures, yet they can cause a serious infective endocarditis (IE). Antibiotic resistance is increasing among Corynebacterium spp., and this makes treatment more challenging. There are few reports of IE caused by Corynebacterium spp., and more research is needed. Here, we report a case of 55- year old man with Corynebacterium spp. cardiac device-related infective endocarditis.

Keywords

• corynebacterium
• endocarditis
• cardiac implantable electronic device