Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0085693 (acute appendicitis)
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Four bacterial isolates were recovered from the blood cultures of four patients, two of whom were from Hong Kong and two of whom were from Canada. The two Hong Kong strains were isolated from a 48-year-old man with intestinal obstruction and secondary sepsis (strain HKU16T) and from a 39-year-old man with acute appendicitis (strain HKU17), while the two Canadian strains were isolated from a 74-year-old man with biliary sepsis (strain CA1) and from a 66-year-old woman with metastatic carcinoma and sepsis (strain CA2). While the first three patients survived, the last patient died 2 weeks after the episode of bacteremia. All four isolates are strictly anaerobic, nonsporulating, gram-positive coccobacilli that were unidentified by conventional phenotypic tests and commercial identification systems. They grow on sheep blood agar as nonhemolytic pinpoint colonies after 48 h of incubation at 37 degrees C in an anaerobic environment. All are catalase positive and motile, with flagella. They produce acid from arabinose, glucose, mannose, and xylose. They do not produce indole or reduce nitrate. They are sensitive to penicillin, vancomycin, and metronidazole but resistant to cefotaxime. 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed 16.0%, 16.8%, and 21.0% base differences from Clostridium propionicum, Clostridium neopropionicum, and Atopobium minutum, respectively. The G+C content of strain HKU16T is 40.2% +/- 2.2%. Based on their phylogenetic affiliation, unique G+C content, and phenotypic characteristics, we propose a new genus and species, Catabacter hongkongensis gen. nov., sp. nov., to describe the bacterium, for which HKU16 is the type strain, and suggest that it be assigned to a new family, Catabacteriaceae. The gastrointestinal tract was probably the source of the bacterium for at least three of the four patients. The isolation of a catalase-positive, motile, nonsporulating, anaerobic gram-positive bacillus in clinical laboratories should raise the possibility of C. hongkongensis. Further studies should be performed to ascertain the epidemiology and other disease associations of this bacterium.
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PMID:Catabacter hongkongensis gen. nov., sp. nov., isolated from blood cultures of patients from Hong Kong and Canada. 1712 22

Catabacter hongkongensis is a recently described catalase-positive, motile, anaerobic, nonsporulating, Gram-positive coccobacillus that was first isolated from blood cultures of four patients from Hong Kong and Canada. Although DNA sequences representing C. hongkongensis have been detected in environmental sources, only one additional case of human infection has been reported, in France. We describe five cases of C. hongkongensis bacteremia in Hong Kong, two presenting with sepsis, one with acute gangrenous perforated appendicitis, one with acute calculous cholecystitis, and one with infected carcinoma of colon. Three patients, with gastrointestinal malignancy, died during admission. All five isolates were catalase positive, motile, and negative for indole production and nitrate reduction and produced acid from arabinose, glucose, mannose, and xylose. They were unambiguously identified as C. hongkongensis by 16S rRNA gene analysis. Of the total of 10 reported cases of C. hongkongensis bacteremia in the literature and this study, most patients had underlying diseases, while two cases occurred in healthy young individuals with acute appendicitis. Six patients presented with infections associated with either the gastrointestinal or biliary tract, supporting the gastrointestinal tract as the source of bacteremia. C. hongkongensis bacteremia is associated with a poor prognosis, with a high mortality of 50% among reported cases, especially in patients with advanced malignancies. All reported isolates were susceptible to metronidazole. Identification of more C. hongkongensis isolates by 16S rRNA gene sequencing will help better define its epidemiology and pathogenesis.
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PMID:High mortality associated with Catabacter hongkongensis bacteremia. 2251 72