Characterizing Actinotignum Schaalii Infections in a Large Canadian Healthcare Region

Abstract

Aims: We characterize the epidemiology of Actinotignum schaalii within a large Canadian region after implementation of improved identification methods. Patients & methods: Positive cultures for A. schaalii from a centralized microbiology laboratory in Canada were analyzed. Clinical data were retrieved through administrative databases and chart reviews. Primary outcome was incidence of A. schaalii infections; secondary outcomes included mortality, hospital admission and length of stay. Results & conclusions: 86 unique isolates were studied, 37 bloodstream infections (BSI) and 49 non-BSIs. Patients with BSIs were older with more comorbidities, with urinary tract infections implicated as the most frequent source; skin abscesses caused the most non-BSIs. Hospitalization and 90-day mortality was higher in the BSI group. A. schaalii is an important community-acquired pathogen with the potential to cause invasive infections.

Actinotignum schaalii infection: Challenges in diagnosis and treatment

“…Data on infections due to this pathogen are scarce, with most reported cases being from UTI. Moreover, few reviews [ 20 ] concerning A. schaalii have been published, with most being a short series of cases, and ours being the most extensive to our knowledge, with 107 infectious episodes.…”

Microbiological Characterization of Actinotignum schaalii Strains Causing Invasive Infections during a Multiyear Period in a Large Canadian Health Care Region

“…Calgary Laboratory Services (CLS) (now Alberta Precision Laboratories [APL]) is a centralized regional microbiology laboratory providing ambulatory and hospital-based testing to Calgary and the Alberta Health Services (AHS) South Zone, covering a population of 2.0 million ( 18 ). Basic demographic data for A. schaalii isolates, such as patient age and sex, were derived from the previously completed clinical study for the purposes of microbiological characterization ( 14 ). Infectious diagnosis, hospitalization, and 90-day mortality rates were determined through a retrospective chart review of the patients’ electronic medical records, which was independently performed by two investigators (J.M.…”

“…( 1 , 12 , 13 ). We previously performed a comprehensive study of the clinical manifestations and population-based epidemiology of clinically relevant infections due to A. schaalii in our health care region ( 14 ). In this study, we conducted a detailed microbiological analysis of the previously described isolates to improve our understanding of the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of this organism.…”

Case report: A rare case of skin abscess caused by coinfection of Actinobaculum schaalii and Actinomyces turicensis

“…Bacterial infections, particularly infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus , are the predominant etiology of this type of abscess ( Talan et al., 2016 ). However, recent studies have also indicated that skin abscesses can also be caused by anaerobic or facultative anaerobic bacteria ( Accetto and Avguštin, 2021 ; Mah et al., 2022 ).…”

“…Therefore, it is easily overlooked because of its special growth requirements. Recently, the utilization of advanced equipment within clinical microbiology laboratories has led to increasing recognition of A. schaalii as an opportunistic pathogen that is commonly associated with urinary tract infections, bloodstream infections, and Fournier’s gangrene ( Yassin et al., 2017 ; Mah et al., 2022 ). However, abscess formation caused by A. schaalii is still rare ( Panganiban and Gupta, 2020 ).…”