Cardiobacterium hominis: an elusive cause of endocarditis

J Infect. 1983 Jan;6(1):75-80. doi: 10.1016/s0163-4453(83)95776-6.

Abstract

Cardiobacterium hominis is a fastidious bacterium of the normal mouth flora. It has rarely been recognised in the past as a human pathogen and has been difficult to recover from the bloodstream. Mistaken diagnoses and delays in therapy have been common. We report a 29-year-old man with C. hominis endocarditis who was initially treated for a presumed collagen-vascular disorder with anti-flammatory drugs. The organism was eventually recovered in brain-heart infusion medium after prolonged incubation, and cure was accomplished with parenteral penicillin. Special blood culturing methods should be used if endocarditis caused by a fastidious organism is clinically suspected.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
  • Blood / microbiology
  • Culture Media
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Endocarditis, Subacute Bacterial / diagnosis
  • Endocarditis, Subacute Bacterial / drug therapy
  • Endocarditis, Subacute Bacterial / etiology*
  • Humans
  • Immune Complex Diseases / diagnosis
  • Male

Substances

  • Anti-Bacterial Agents
  • Culture Media