Corynebacterium coyleae as potential urinary tract pathogen

Abstract

Corynebacterium coyleae is part of the commensal microflora of the skin, urethra, mucous membranes, and genital tract. Isolates from patients with urinary tract infection (UTI) were reported, but the pathogenic potential of this species has not been defined yet. The aim of the study is to determine whether C. coyleae could be the etiological agent of UTI and to analyze its antibiotic susceptibility. Urine samples were cultured quantitatively according to accepted laboratory procedures. The identification of bacterial isolates was carried out using the Vitek MS (bioMérieux) and antibiotic susceptibility was tested using disc diffusion according to EUCAST guidelines. Between 1 January 2017 and 30 October 2018, a total of 39 C. coyleae strains were isolated. This represented 0.32% of all urine samples cultured in the laboratory during the collection period. The strains were isolated from samples obtained from 35 women and 3 men (age median for all—64 years). One female patient presented with C. coyleae in her urine twice at an interval of 21 months. In six cases of UTI, C. coyleae was isolated in monoculture. The isolates had the same resistance pattern. A total of 11 strains were obtained from cases with a clinical diagnosis of UTI. In 13 cases, the strain was cultured in a monoculture and in 28 cases with accompanying species. All strains were susceptible to vancomycin. However, resistance to ciprofloxacin was observed for 58.4% of the strains. Urine isolates of C. coyleae must be considered as contamination or normal flora in most cases (28/39, 72%). In the remaining cases, it can be considered as potential etiologic agents, mostly in women and especially in the 6 UTI cases where C. coyleae was found as the single culture-positive species. Several of these isolates demonstrate resistance to antibiotics commonly used in empiric treatment of urinary tract infections.

Cutaneous surgical wounds have distinct microbiomes from intact skin

“…A diversity of type and degree of enrichment is not surprising, as Corynebacterium species comprise a diverse genus, with over 110 validated species (Oliveira et al 2017). Most human-associated Corynebacteria are considered commensals, commonly residing in the skin, upper respiratory tract, conjunctiva, and the urogenital tract (Ang and Brown 2007; Cogen et al 2008; Hemsley et al 1999; Qin et al 2018; Sokol-Leszczynska et al 2019). However, several species of Corynebacteria are known to be strictly pathogenic, most notoriously C. diphtheria (Bernard 2012; Cogen et al 2008).…”

Changes in microbial composition and interaction patterns of female urogenital tract and rectum in response to HPV infection

“…In addition to the common Lactobacillus and Gardnerella in the reproductive tract, we also found that Corynebacterium , Campylobacter , Cutibacterium and other bacteria genera associated with HPV infection in multiple parts of the female urogenital tract. As a common pathogen in human urogenital tract, Corynebacterium is mostly associated with urinary tract infection [ 70 , 71 ]. Meanwhile, previous studies have found that HPV infection is accompanied by the change of the abundance of Corynebacterium [ 72 , 73 ].…”

In vitro Studies of Non-Diphtheriae Corynebacterium Isolates on Antimicrobial Susceptibilities, Drug Resistance Mechanisms, and Biofilm Formation Capabilities

“…2,7,[11][12][13][14][15][16] There are also increasing reports on non-diphtheriae Corynebacterium-related UTIs, but most studies were case reports or focused on one species only. 8,14,[17][18][19][20][21] Very few studies have identified non-diphtheriae Corynebacterium involving infections at the species level. 13,22 The increase of clinical relevance, unpredictable antimicrobial susceptibilities to the currently available agents, as well as little understanding of potential drug resistance mechanisms all make it necessary to move forward in this line of research.…”