BACKGROUND Nutritionally variant Streptococci (NVS), Abiotrophia and Granulicatella are implicated in causing endocarditis and blood stream infections more frequently than other sites of infection. Neutropenia and mucositis are the most common predisposing factors for infection with other pathogens in cancer patients. In this study, we investigated the clinical characteristics of NVS bacteremia...

Helcococcus spp. are Gram-positive, catalase-negative, facultatively anaerobic cocci that are associated with wound and prosthetic joint infections as well bacteremia and empyema. Five Helcococcus spp. strains were isolated from our patient population, including 2 strains of Helcococcus kunzii from trauma-associated wounds, 2 Helcococcus sueciensis strains from blood and abscess, and a novel He...

CONTEXT Since the first modern clinical description of infective endocarditis (IE) at the end of the 19th century, the profile of the disease has evolved continuously, as highlighted in epidemiological studies including a French survey performed in 1991. OBJECTIVE To update information gained from the 1991 study on the epidemiology of IE in France. DESIGN AND SETTING Population-based survey...

Background: Alterations of oral microbiota are the main cause of the progression of caries. The goal of this study was to characterize the oral microbiota in childhood caries based on single-molecule real-time sequencing. Methods: A total of 21 preschoolers, aged 3-5 years old with severe early childhood caries, and 20 age-matched, caries-free children as controls were recruited. Saliva samples...

BACKGROUND Granulicatella and Abiotrophia spp. are difficult to detect due to their complex nutritional requirements. Infections with these organisms are associated with high treatment failure rates. We report the first implant-associated infection caused by Granulicatella para-adiacens, which was cured with anti-microbial treatment consisting of anti-biofilm-active rifampin and debridement, ex...

Concerted efforts by healthcare professionals and heightened public awareness has reduced the incidence of hospital-acquired infections in recent years. For example, the number of reports of meticillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteraemia in England declined by 52% between January and March 2009, and January and March 2011. Similarly, the number of Clostridium difficile infections ...

Background. Nutritionally Variant Streptococci (Abiotrophia and Granulicatella) are found normally in the oropharynx, genitourinary tract, and intestinal tract. NVS are typically associated with endocarditis in immunocompetent patients and bacteremia in immunosuppressed patients. Chemotherapy-induced mucositis and neutropenia have previously been identified as risk factors in cancer patients. I...

To the Editor—Recently in Clinical Infectious Diseases, Berbari et al [1] provided the results of a study devised to assess the risk of prosthetic joint infection resulting from temporally related dental procedures and the role of antibiotic prophylaxis. They reported that 339 patients developed a prosthetic hip or knee infection. Upon culture, staphylococci were the most commonly encountered i...

Streptococci in patients who received previous antibiotic treatment and infection of the right heart and specifically on pace makers. The diagnostic strategy of BCNIE starts by serological testing of fastidious agents. At the minimum Coxiella burnetii and Bartonella should be tested. A single serum is sufficient, as endocarditis is a chronic disease associated with high level IgG antibodies. Q ...