Rhodococcus equi bacteremia with lung abscess misdiagnosed as corynebacterium: a report of 2 cases.

Rhodococcus equi infection is commonly encountered in HIV-infected patients; recipients of organ transplants; and in those with lymphoma, chronic renal failure, alcoholism, lung cancer, leukaemia, diabetes mellitus, and other states of immunodeficiency. Recent reports have also documented R. equi infections among immunocompetent patients. The most common manifestations of R. equi infections are multiple abscesses in the lungs, and extrapulmonary infections may include wound infections, subcutaneous abscesses, brain abscesses, meningitis, pericarditis, osteomyelitis, cervical adenopathy, endophthalmitis, lymphangitis, or mastoiditis. We report 2 cases of lung abscesses with R. equi misdiagnosed as Corynebacterium species.