IntroductionCorynebacteria have an important place among the commensal flora of the skin and mucous membranes. Except for Corynebacterium diphtheriae, they were once considered contaminants of mucosa. Recent publications in medical bacteriology have highlighted the importance of several species, such as C. aurimucosum. To the best of our knowledge, we report the first isolation of this strain from urine.Case presentationWe report a case of a patient with a urinary tract infection with C. aurimucosum. We isolated this bacterium from a 52-year-old man of Wolof ethniticity (an ethnic group in Senegal, West Africa) at the regional hospital of Saint Louis, Senegal. Microscopic examination of his total urine sample showed coryneform Gram-positive bacilli associated with a high leukocyte reaction. After repeated isolation of the corynebacteria in three samples from the patient’s urine, it was identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The strain was susceptible to antibiotics, except for penicillin and co-trimoxazole. The potential infectious role of these commensal species in several infections should be taken into consideration.ConclusionsThis case highlights the significant proportion of species in the genus Corynebacterium other than dyphteriae in the infectious process. The use of mass spectrometry for identification highlights the originality of this work and the importance of these new diagnostic tools that are unavailable in most health facilities of countries with limited resources. We share the results of our method of identification of the isolated bacteria. This case should prompt attention to these rare bacteria, which can cause severe infections.

Pyonephrosis is a suppurative infection of the kidney caused by ureteral obstruction. It can lead to kidney failure, septic shock, and death. Thus, it requires prompt assessment and appropriate management. We report a case of a 63-year-old male with giant pyonephrosis contained 10 liters of pus and spontaneously ruptured in the adjacent muscles. This clinical case illustrates the value of computed tomography scan in the diagnosis and management of an uncommon upper urinary tract infection and its complications.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the dose delivered to patients during scannographic examinations at the Kaolack Regional Hospital (one of the 14 regions of Senegal located in the center-west of the country, 192 km from Dakar) and to compare these irradiation doses at diagnostic reference levels found in the literature in order to optimize our scanning protocols. To achieve this goal, we carried out a prospective study involving 218 CT scans. These examinations focused on cerebral, thoracic, abdominopelvic and lumbar spine acquisitions made in adults and cerebral only in children. We compared the median values of dosimetric indicators (CTDIvol and DLP) per acquisition with NRDs in the literature. During the course of this study, we found a dosimetric ratio lower than that of the NRDs for thoracic, abdomino-pelvic and lumbar spine CT scans in adults and a significant dosimetric exceedance for brain scans in adults and in children. These results encourage us to extend these dosimetric evaluations to other hospital structures in order to establish rigorous monitoring of dosimetric indicators and to respect the principles of radiation protection and good practice.

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