Curtobacterium albidum/citreum bacteremia in an intensive care unit patient: The first case report
5 affiliations
- 1Advanced Emergency and Critical Care Center, Kurume University Hospital, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
- 2Department of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
- 3Department of Infection Control and Prevention, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
- 4Division of Infection Control and Prevention, Kurume University Hospital, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
- 5Department of Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Kurume University Hospital, Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan
Abstract
A 70-year-old man was admitted to a local hospital complaining of fever for 3 days. After 8 days of hospitalization, his platelet count began to decrease, his respiratory rate increased, and he was transferred to the intensive care unit of our hospital. His vital signs upon admission were as follows: Glasgow Coma Scale score, 10 (E3V1M6); pulse, 118 bpm; blood pressure, 119/68 mmHg; respiratory rate, 26/min; peripheral capillary oxygen saturation, 99% on 5 L/min of oxygen; as well as generalized jaundice. Blood cultures obtained on day one were negative, and the patient’s general condition gradually improved. However, on day 20, gram-positive rods were isolated from two of the four blood cultures obtained (aerobic bottles only). Vancomycin was initiated, and the following day the infecting organism was identified as Curtobacterium albidum/citreum. However, a second blood culture obtained on day 22 was still positive. Bone marrow examination confirmed a diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and chemotherapy was initiated on day 25; however, the patient’s general condition deteriorated, and he died on day 26. 16S rRNA analysis revealed a 99% match with C. citreum, a Corynebacterium-like gram-positive rod that colonizes rice and other crops. However, only a few human infections have been reported, including one previous report of possible catheter-related bacteremia based on recovery from a single aerobic bottle. To our knowledge, no prior case of probable clinically significant Curtobacterium bacteremia supported by repeated recovery from separate blood-culture collections has been documented. The number of reports is likely to increase as the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry becomes more widespread. C. albidum/citreum can cause nosocomial infections in immunocompromised patients, and further studies are required to determine the optimal therapeutic agents.
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BibTeX
@article{kannae2026curtobacterium,
title = {{Curtobacterium albidum/citreum bacteremia in an intensive care unit patient: The first case report}},
author = {Mikinori Kannae and Kenji Gotoh and Kazuya Kunitake and Nobuhisa Hirayu and Masakazu Nabeta and Naotaka Tashiro and Hiroshi Watanabe and Osamu Takasu},
journal = {IDCases},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1016/j.idcr.2026.e02803},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idcr.2026.e02803},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Curtobacterium albidum/citreum bacteremia in an intensive care unit patient: The first case report
AU - Mikinori Kannae
AU - Kenji Gotoh
AU - Kazuya Kunitake
AU - Nobuhisa Hirayu
AU - Masakazu Nabeta
AU - Naotaka Tashiro
AU - Hiroshi Watanabe
AU - Osamu Takasu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/14
JO - IDCases
DO - 10.1016/j.idcr.2026.e02803
UR - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idcr.2026.e02803
AB - A 70-year-old man was admitted to a local hospital complaining of fever for 3 days. After 8 days of hospitalization, his platelet count began to decrease, his respiratory rate increased, and he was transferred to the intensive care unit of our hospital. His vital signs upon admission were as follows: Glasgow Coma Scale score, 10 (E3V1M6); pulse, 118 bpm; blood pressure, 119/68 mmHg; respiratory rate, 26/min; peripheral capillary oxygen saturation, 99% on 5 L/min of oxygen; as well as generalized jaundice. Blood cultures obtained on day one were negative, and the patient’s general condition gradually improved. However, on day 20, gram-positive rods were isolated from two of the four blood cultures obtained (aerobic bottles only). Vancomycin was initiated, and the following day the infecting organism was identified as Curtobacterium albidum/citreum. However, a second blood culture obtained on day 22 was still positive. Bone marrow examination confirmed a diagnosis of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and chemotherapy was initiated on day 25; however, the patient’s general condition deteriorated, and he died on day 26. 16S rRNA analysis revealed a 99% match with C. citreum, a Corynebacterium-like gram-positive rod that colonizes rice and other crops. However, only a few human infections have been reported, including one previous report of possible catheter-related bacteremia based on recovery from a single aerobic bottle. To our knowledge, no prior case of probable clinically significant Curtobacterium bacteremia supported by repeated recovery from separate blood-culture collections has been documented. The number of reports is likely to increase as the use of matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry becomes more widespread. C. albidum/citreum can cause nosocomial infections in immunocompromised patients, and further studies are required to determine the optimal therapeutic agents.
SN - 2214-2509
ER -