[Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum pneumonia in a patient diagnosed with HIV infection]

Corynebacterium pseudodiphteriticum is a diphteromorphic bacterium, previously described as pathogenic in very few cases. We present the case of a patient diagnosed of infection by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), who developed pneumonia probably caused by Corynebacterium pseudodiphtheriticum and who had a good response to the initial empirical therapy with cephotaxime. We reviewed the literature on patients with diagnosis of HIV infection, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related complex and we found just one case of this corynebacterium acting as pathogenic and causing a pulmonary abscess.