Corynebacterium group D2 as a cause of alkaline-encrusted cystitis: report of four cases and characterization of the organisms

Abstract

In four patients with alkaline-encrusted cystitis, Corynebacterium group D2 was isolated from consecutive urine cultures and stones. Encrusted cystitis occurred in bladders harboring inflammatory or tumorous lesions in patients with chronic or recurrent urinary tract infections appearing after surgery or instrumentation. The urease activity of Corynebacterium group D2 and the neutralization of this enzyme by acetohydroxamic acid are shown. Clinical improvement, disappearance of struvite crystals, and decrease of the urine pH were obtained when these bacteria were eliminated from urine samples. Corynebacterium group D2 strains were highly resistant to many antimicrobial agents but were highly susceptible to norfloxacin and vancomycin when tested at two pHs (7.4 and 8.5).

Clinical description of Corynebacterium urealyticum urinary tract infections in 11 dogs and 10 cats

“…Tetracyclines appeared to be the most commonly effective antibiotic in our study. Tetracyclines were used with success in initial reports of human CU-UTI (Soriano et al 1985), but glycopeptides are now considered the first-line therapy. A disadvantage of tetracycline antimicrobials is their weak excretion in the urine and lower activity at high pH.…”

The β‐lactam‐sensitive d,d‐carboxypeptidase activity of Pbp4 controls the l,d and d,d transpeptidation pathways in Corynebacterium jeikeium

“…Among the non-diphterial corynebacteria, C. urealyticum and C. jeikeium are commonly isolated from the skin and the mucous membranes of hospitalized patients (Wichmann et al, 1985;Funke et al, 1997). C. urealyticum is involved in urinary tract infections such as alkaline-encrusted cystitis (Soriano et al, 1985) and encrusted pyelitis following renal transplantation (Soriano and Tauch, 2008). C. jeikeium, formally the 'group JK' recognized in 1970 (Johnson and Kaye, 1970;Riley et al, 1979;Jackman et al, 1987), is an opportunist pathogen responsible for a variety of nosocomial infections including vascular catheters infections, prosthetic endocarditis, septicemia and meningitis.…”

Carbonate apatite nephrolithiasis associated withCorynebacterium urealyticumurinary tract infection in a dog

“…12,17 In humans, alkaline-encrusted cystitis, alkaline-encrusted pyelitis and nephrolithiasis have been described as complications of C. urealyticum UTIs. [18][19][20] In dogs, only nine cases of C. urealyticum UTIs have been reported, five of which additionally developed encrusted cystitis and/or cystoliths; neither nephrolithiasis nor encrusted pyelitis has been described to date. 1,[4][5][6] Affected dogs were mixed-breeds (German Shepherd Dog × (n = 2), Doberman Pinscher × (1), Alaskan Husky × (1), other (2)) and purebreeds (Doberman Pinscher, Siberian Husky, Bichon Frise, Poodle (1 each)), with a wide age distribution (6 months to 14 years); however, five of the nine dogs were relatively young (≤3 years), as was the dog in the present report.…”