Clinical and Microbiological Characteristics of Bacteremia Caused by Eggerthella, Paraeggerthella, and Eubacterium Species at a University Hospital in Taiwan from 2001 to 2010

Abstract

We describe 16 patients with bacteremia caused by Eggerthella lenta ( n = 7), Paraeggerthella hongkongensis ( n = 3), Eubacterium limosum ( n = 4), Eubacterium callanderi ( n = 1), and concomitant Eubacterium limosum / Eggerthella lenta ( n = 1). Nine (56%) patients had polymicrobial bacteremia. The overall 60-day mortality rate was 19%, and all deaths occurred in patients with E. lenta bacteremia.

Eggerthella lentaBacteremia after Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography in an End-Stage Renal Disease Patient

“…On physical examination, he had tenderness on epigastrium, a blood pressure of 90/60 mmHg, heart rates of 120 beats/min, and a respiratory rate of 22 breaths/min. His initial blood cell counts were as follows: hemoglobin, 12.7 g/dL; white blood cell counts, 15.4×10 Lactobacillus, and Actinomyces [1,7]. Although some automated identification systems such as Vitek 2, have E. lenta in their databases, these tests are limited.…”

“…Especially in patients with predisposing factors, bacteremia is associated with high mortality [3,6,7,14].…”

“…The various cases of E. lenta infections were reported associated with intrauterine devices, bacteremia associated with malignancy and female genital tract infections [10], cutaneous abscess [11] and bacteremia in Crohn's disease patient [9]. Some reports showed that E. lenta can lead to high morbidity and mortality including septic shock, multiple organ failure, and death [7,9], but the pathogenesis of these cases, especially bacteremia, has not been well established [2,7,9,[12][13][14].…”

“…Although some automated identification systems such as Vitek 2, have E. lenta in their databases, these tests are limited. Furthermore, most databases of commercial rapid identification systems do not include new subspecies of Eggerthella, Paraeggerthella, and Eubacterium [7].…”

“…Other known predisposing factors include malignancy, immobilization, bed sores, diabetes mellitus, and stroke [2,7].…”