Jørgen Prag

Human Necrobacillosis, with Emphasis on Lemierre's Syndrome

Lemierres syndrome is the classical presentation of human necrobacillosis. It is characterized by a primary infection in the head in a young, previously healthy person who subsequently develops persistent high fever and disseminated metastatic abscesses, frequently including a septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein. The main pathogen is Fusobacterium necrophorum, an obligate anaerobic, pleomorphic, gram-negative rod. Clinical microbiologists have a key role in alerting clinicians and advising proper antibiotic treatment when the characteristic microscopic morphology of the pleomorphic F. necrophorum is seen in Gram stains from positive anaerobic cultures of blood and pus. Early diagnosis and prolonged appropriate antibiotic treatment with good anaerobic coverage are crucial to reduce morbidity and mortality. F. necrophorum also causes human necrobacillosis with foci caudal to the head, mainly in elderly patients with high mortality related to age and predisposing diseases, such as cancers of the primary focus.

Bacteremia in HIV-positive and AIDS patients : incidence, species distribution, risk-factors, outcome, and influence of long-term prophylactic antibiotic treatment

From a cohort of 837 adult, mainly homosexual HIV-infected patients, 76 bacteremic/fungemic episodes were identified in 63 patients over a 5-year period. Compared with an age-matched reference population with an incidence of 10.3 bacteremias/10,000 person-years, the incidence was 170 among pre-AIDS (p < 0.001) and 3,200 among AIDS patients (p < 0.001). Staphylococcal infections comprised 35% of all episodes, while the HIV-related pathogens Streptococcus pneumoniae, Salmonella spp. and C. neoformans together accounted for 34%. The overall mortality associated with clinical bacteremia was 12%, but nil for Salmonella spp. and S. pneumoniae. Predisposing factors for the infection were: low CD4 count (< 100 x 10(6)/l) in 71%, permanent intravenous line, 44%; neutropenia, 11% and active intravenous drug abuse, 7%. Hence, in this population, intensified hygienic precautions for intravenous lines should be the primary target for intervention. Long-term cotrimoxazole prophylaxis may prevent bacteremia with S. pneumoniae and Salmonella spp.

Actinobaculum schaalii, a Common Uropathogen in Elderly Patients, Denmark

This organism is identified more often by PCR than by cultivation.

Localised Fusobacterium necrophorum infections: a prospective laboratory-based Danish study

During a 3-year prospective laboratory-based study in Denmark from 1998 to 2001, all patients who were diagnosed with localised Fusobacterium necrophorum infections were registered with the purpose of describing the variety of localised infections caused by F. necrophorum, especially in the head. We found 267 patients, most of them previously healthy, with localised F. necrophorum infections in the head and neck. In children, F. necrophorum caused otitis media and solitary abscess formation in cervical lymphadenitis. In adolescents, F. necrophorum was found in 21% of peritonsillar abscesses. We also found F. necrophorum in young adults with tonsillitis and in middle-aged adults with sinusitis. F. necrophorum was found in substantial amounts and as the only bacterial pathogen in the majority of patients. All 267 patients recovered without sequelae. We found another 21 localised non-head-and-neck-associated F. necrophorum infections, mainly subcutaneous wound infections in adults. This study shows that F. necrophorum causes a variety of localised infections, especially in the head and neck region, with a characteristic age distribution. We recommend that anaerobic culture is performed on swabs from children with recurrent otitis media and adolescents with non-streptococcal group A tonsillitis.

Actinobaculum schaalii: A common cause of urinary tract infection in the elderly population. Bacteriological and clinical characteristics

Abstract To-date only 21 clinical cases of Actinobaculum schaalii infection have been published, and A. schaalii has been considered a rare cause of urinary tract infection (UTI) and urosepsis. Between y 2005 and 2008, we isolated A. schaalii from 55 predisposed elderly patients. In these cases, microscopic findings of coccoid rods in wet smears of urine gave rise to clinical suspicion and subsequently to its isolation from urine. Typically only scant growth of A. schaalii occurred after incubation of the urine for 24 h, but it became visible after 2 days of incubation in 5% CO2. Preliminary biochemical identification was carried out by combining the API Coryne and Rapid ID32A test systems, and the identification was later confirmed by partial 16S rDNA gene sequencing. During the 4-y period, A. schaalii caused septicaemia, UTIs and asymptomatic bacteriuria. One patient was later infected with Actinobaculum massiliense. The incidence of A. schaalii infections is much higher than previously reported. We present numerous case reports and describe the bacteriological and clinical characteristics of this overlooked uropathogen.

Pneumococcal Endocarditis is not just a Disease of the Past: An Analysis of 16 Cases Diagnosed in Denmark 1986-1997

To remind clinicians and clinical microbiologists of the clinical features and therapeutic aspects of pneumococcal endocarditis, patients with pneumococcal endocarditis from 1986 to 1997 were identified via an enquiry to clinical microbiologists across Denmark. For all patients records were reviewed to confirm the diagnosis of pneumococcal endocarditis, and the clinical course, therapy and outcome were analysed. 16 patients with definitive pneumococcal endocarditis were found. All pneumococcal isolates were sensitive to penicillin. 15 patients had no previously known cardiac valvular disease, 10 patients had X-ray-proven pneumonia and 5 had meningitis. The aortic valve was affected in 13 patients, of whom 12 developed aortic insufficiency and 11 cardiac failure. Of 7 patients who underwent surgery, 6 needed immediate cardiac valve replacement. The 30-day case fatality rate was 19% (95% confidence limits 4-46%). Pneumococcal endocarditis must be considered when treating patients with pneumococcaemia. The most important clue to the diagnosis is a significant murmur and development of heart failure. Evaluation by transoesophageal echocardiography is helpful in determining the diagnosis and assessing the need for surgical intervention. With appropriate antibiotic therapy, close observation and cardiac valve replacement if necessary, the prognosis is better than recorded in earlier studies.

Three Cases of Rothia dentocariosa Bacteraemia: Frequency in Denmark and a Review

Three cases of non-endocarditis-associated Rothia dentocariosa bacteraermia occurred in Viborg County within the space of a year, whereas no cases have been registered in other parts of Denmark during the last 10 y. Two patients wore dentures but had no history of oral infection, while in the last patient a tooth abscess was detected on examination. R. dentocariosa is a common inhabitant of the oral cavity and the causative agent of a wide spectrum of infectious symptoms. It is only rarely identified in blood cultures, possibly due the inadequacy of the available identification methods.

Actinobaculum schaalii, a commensal of the urogenital area

Actinobaculum schaalii is considered to be a part of the normai flora in the genital and urinary tract area. It has been associated to urinary tract infection (UTI), sepsis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis and Foumiers gangrene. So far it has mainly been isolated from urine, blood and pus, and predominantly in elderly patients. This study examined the habitat of A. schaalii by collecting samples from skin and urine in patients with kidney or ureter stones before and after treatment with Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy (ESWL). Additionally faeces and vaginal swabs from routine specimen in patients not undergoing ESWL and without known urinary calculi were also analysed. The study does not find A. schaalii in faeces but shows it to be presents on skin and mucosa in the genital area. A. schaalii is also shown a possible pathogen in the stone‐patient group undergoing ESWL.

Actinobaculum schaalii, a cause of urinary tract infections in children?

Aim:  To inform that Actinobaculum schaalii can colonize the urine and cause urinary tract infection in children.

Actinobaculum schaalii in urological patients, screened with real-time polymerase chain reaction

Abstract Objective. Actinobaculum schaalii can cause urinary tract infections (UTIs) and occasionally septic complications. It is a carbon dioxide-requiring Gram-positive rod which is overlooked if urine is cultured in ambient air or if there is growth of conventional species. This study aimed to find the frequency of A. schaalii in consecutive cohorts of patients with kidney stones, children with suspected UTI and patients with indwelling catheters. Material and methods. A quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was used to screen consecutive urine samples from of 76 patients with kidney stones, 29 children and 37 with different indwelling catheters. Results. In patients with kidney stones, A. schaalii was found in seven (29%) of the 24 leucocyte esterase stix-positive urines, which was twice as often as in the stix-negative urines (p = 0.22), and in five (36%) of 14 children less than 3 years old but not in 15 children 3–15 years old (p = 0.02). The eight catheterized patients with A. schaalii (22%) were elderly and half had comorbidities. In the patients where A. schaalii was found, other uropathogens were found from five of the 15 patients with kidney stones, one of the five children and seven of the eight with an indwelling catheter. Conclusion. Actinobaculum schaalii is common among elderly people with suspected UTI and may be clinically significant, when found alone or together with other bacteria, among children and patients treated for kidney stones.