{"title":"A rare case of empyema due to <i>Cutibacterium acnes</i> in the setting of COVID-19.","authors":"Ibrahim Youssef, Dima Youssef","doi":"10.18683/germs.2022.1345","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong><i>Cutibacterium acnes</i> is a Gram-positive anaerobic rod that is part of the normal skin flora, as well as the oral cavity, genitourinary and gastrointestinal tracts. When detected, it is usually considered contaminant; but it is infrequently responsible for invasive infections, mainly neurosurgical and joint infections. It is rarely found as a pathogen responsible for lung infections or empyema.</p><p><strong>Case report: </strong>We present a unique case of <i>C. acnes</i> empyema following severe COVID-19, making this the first documented case of empyema due to this bacterium following COVID-19. The microorganism was identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The patient was treated with a combination of antibiotics and surgical intervention.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This case demonstrates the potential severity of <i>C. acnes</i> empyema. Further studies are needed to establish management guidance.</p>","PeriodicalId":45107,"journal":{"name":"GERMS","volume":"12 3","pages":"404-408"},"PeriodicalIF":1.7000,"publicationDate":"2022-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10482476/pdf/germs-12-03-404.pdf","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"GERMS","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.18683/germs.2022.1345","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"INFECTIOUS DISEASES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Introduction: Cutibacterium acnes is a Gram-positive anaerobic rod that is part of the normal skin flora, as well as the oral cavity, genitourinary and gastrointestinal tracts. When detected, it is usually considered contaminant; but it is infrequently responsible for invasive infections, mainly neurosurgical and joint infections. It is rarely found as a pathogen responsible for lung infections or empyema.
Case report: We present a unique case of C. acnes empyema following severe COVID-19, making this the first documented case of empyema due to this bacterium following COVID-19. The microorganism was identified by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The patient was treated with a combination of antibiotics and surgical intervention.
Conclusions: This case demonstrates the potential severity of C. acnes empyema. Further studies are needed to establish management guidance.