Foot ulceration and vertebral osteomyelitis with Corynebacterium haemolyticum

Diphtheroid or "coryneform" bacilli are usually considered to be nonpathogenic "normal flora" of human skin and mucous membranes. Because bacterial cultures are frequently contaminated with these organisms, the correct diagnosis and proper treatment may be delayed by the failure to recognize serious infections caused by them. This is a report of a 71-year-old woman with a diabetic foot ulcer and Corynebacterium haemolyticum osteomyelitis with bacteremia.