[Pneumonia caused by Corynebacterium pseudodiphteriticum, an entity worth knowing]

Respiratory infections are challenging for clinicians and new microbes or those considered previously as normal flora or less virulent forms seen responsible for some cases. Thus, the case reported here is a nosocomial pneumonia caused by Corynebacterium pseudodiphteriticum in a man suffering chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and resolved with cefotaxime. This microorganism is part of the oropharingeal bacterial flora and is therefore associated mainly with respiratory disease an less commonly with endocarditis, prostheses or wound infections. Susceptibility testing found uniform susceptibility to b-lactamases, aminoglycosides, rifampin and tetracycline. Susceptibility to ciprofloxacine is variable and resistance to macrolides (erythromycin and clindamycin) was frequent.