Corynebacterium striatum is Not Just a Contaminant: Experience with Antibiotic Treatment of Spondylodiscitis in an Immunocompetent Adult

Shi-Mei Huang,1,* Shuang Wang,2,3,* Su-Fei Pan,1 Yuan-Yuan Zhang,1 Ji-Liang Wang2,3 1Department of Clinical Laboratory, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, Dongying, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Central Laboratory, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, Dongying, Shandong, People’s Republic of China; 3Dongying Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Dongying, Shandong, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Ji-Liang Wang, Department of Central Laboratory, Shengli Oilfield Central Hospital, No. 31 Jinan Road, Dongying, Shandong, 257034, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-0546-8779266, Email [email protected]: Corynebacterium striatum is a commensal skin agent rarely described as a cause of infective spondylodiscitis. In this study, we report the first case of an infected patient who was successfully treated with conservative measures.Case Presentation: A 54-year-old immunocompetent patient presented with progressive low back pain that had persisted for 1 month. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed abnormal signals in the L4–L5 vertebrae, indicating lumbar spine infection. Laboratory investigations revealed elevation of the serum C-reactive protein level and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Blood and disc biopsy tissue cultures produced cream-colored round raised colonies on blood agar plates, which were identified as C. striatum using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and 16S rRNA sequencing. Based on the antibiotic sensitivity test results, vancomycin and linezolid were sequentially administered to treat C. striatum infection; however, this strategy proved ineffective after 12 days. Despite delayed symptomatic treatment, the patient was successfully treated with a 2-week course of linezolid based on the use of amikacin to control other pathogens.Conclusion: C. striatum can cause discitis in patients without any medical or surgical complications. The infection was successfully treated with anti-infective agents, providing empirical information on spinal infections.Keywords: C. striatum, spondylodiscitis, conservative treatment, spinal infections