Actinomyces cardiffensis septicemia: a case report

Actinomyces cardiffensis is an anaerobic, Gram-positive, non-spore-forming rod that was first identified by Hall et al. (Hall V. et al. (2002) J Clin Microbiol 40:3427-31). Here we report a case of bacteremia with liver and lung abscesses associated with A. cardiffensis. A 67-year-old man was hospitalized with fever and headache for 20 days. Blood culture revealed an Actinomyces species, which was ultimately identified as A. cardiffensis by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. A computed tomography scan of his chest showed small abscesses in his lung and liver. After a 3-week course of intravenous ceftriaxone, the patient showed rapid improvement. The patient was transitioned to oral amoxicillin for the remainder of his antibiotic treatment.