Characterization of Clinical Isolates of Gordonia Species in Japanese Clinical Samples During 1998–2008

Abstract

During 1998-2008, there were 31 strains of Gordonia species isolated from clinical specimens in our laboratory. Our identification of the 31 strains of Gordonia species showed that major pathogenic Gordonia species in Japan were classifiable, respectively into 14 and 13 strains of Gordonia sputi and Gordonia bronchialis. The four remaining strains were identified as three Gordonia species: G. aichiensis (2 strains), and G. terrae (1 strain), and G. otitidis (1 strain). Results of drug susceptibility tests for these 31 strains of Gordonia isolates are reported herein.

Hickman catheter-related bacteremia caused by Gordonia sputi in a patient with breast cancer

“…The use of medical devices such as CVCs have been shown to be a major risk factor for acquiring BSI, as exemplified in this case report [4,5,8,10]. The ability of Gordonia species to inhabit skin among the normal flora, and its propensity to form biofilms, may contribute to its infectious potential [3].…”

“…These include cases of bacteremia, native valve endocarditis, sternal wound infections and mediastinitis after coronary artery bybass, brain abscess, lung and pleural fluid infection, skin infection with lymphadenitis, granulomatous mastitis, mycetoma, keratitis, conjunctivitis and medical device associated septic arthritis [4,5,[8][9][10][11]. Most case reports of Gordonia infection in both adults [9] and children [12] have involved patients with immune dysfunction, mainly suffering from malignant diseases as indicated in the present case.…”

“…The antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of Gordonia species that were reported in the literature as most effective were carbapenems, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, amikacin, and vancomycin [5,12]. On the other hand, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, a drug often used to treat Nocardia infections [14], was not active in one study [15] and only 65% susceptible in another report [12].…”

“…A review of reported cases of Gordonia species BSI showed a high cure rate, suggesting low virulence of this genus [4,5,[8][9][10][11][12]. However, the slow growth of Gordonia species in the culture media (more than 48 hours) in combination with the often inconclusive results by routine biochemical identification tests may contribute to an underestimation of its pathogenic role [11].…”

“…The major pathogenic Gordonia species are Gordonia sputi, Gordonia bronchialis and Gordonia terrae [4,5]. It is believed that their potential in causing human infections is underestimated, because their identification by conventional microbiological and biochemical methods is very difficult.…”