Corynebacterium striatum Infective Endocarditis from Different Perspectives: A Comprehensive Literature Review.

Area of Science:

• Infectious Diseases
• Cardiology
• Microbiology

Background:

• Corynebacterium striatum infective endocarditis (IE) is an uncommon but growing concern.
• Subacute IE caused by C. striatum can experience diagnostic and treatment delays.
• Careful review of clinical history and imaging is vital when C. striatum is found in blood cultures of at-risk patients.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present two new cases of C. striatum IE.
• To review all previously published cases of C. striatum IE in the literature.
• To analyze the collective data for epidemiological and clinical insights.

Main Methods:

• Literature search of PubMed, Scopus, and ULAKBIM databases up to August 1, 2024.
• Inclusion of studies detailing C. striatum IE epidemiology, clinical characteristics, microbiology, treatment, and outcomes.
• Collective analysis of eligible literature cases and the two presented cases.

Main Results:

• A total of 53 patients were analyzed, with a median age of 63 years and male predominance.
• Common predisposing factors included hemodialysis (20.8%), prosthetic valves (18.9%), and cardiac implantable electronic devices (13.2%).
• Native valve involvement occurred in 67.9% of cases, with high in-hospital mortality (24.5%).

Conclusions:

• Native valve involvement and high rates of hemodialysis suggest vascular access-related bacteremia is key in C. striatum IE pathogenesis.
• Effective management necessitates prolonged, targeted antimicrobial therapy.
• Surgical intervention is often required in conjunction with antimicrobial treatment.