Gram positive, aerobic rods belonging to the genus Corynebacterium colonize the skin and mucosal surfaces of humans. They are frequently isolated from various clinical specimens. Interpretation of their clinical relevance is often difficult. Lipophilic corynebacteria are a particularly relevant subgroup of corynebacteria since they might be involved in infections of hospitalized patients and often multidrug resistant to commonly used antimicrobials. Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum is a lipophilic corynebacterium characterized in the year 2004. Routine biochemical tests do not provide reliable identification of C. tuberculostearicum. The present case report include its identification by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). MALDI-TOF MS represents a helpful tool for the identification of this species. Due to the challenging identification of C. tuberculostearicum, we presume that this organism is often misidentified and its clinical relevance is underestimated. We report a case of inflammatory breast abscess from whom Corynebacteria was isolated and we discuss the potential significance of this organism.
Keywords: Corynebacterium tuberculostearicum, lipophilic, multidrug resistant, MALDI-TOF MS, breast abscess
