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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2000, p. 1703-1705, Vol. 38, No. 4
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.

Aerococcus urinae in Urinary Tract Infections

Qing Zhang,1 Christopher Kwoh,2 Silvia Attorri,1 and Jill E. Clarridge III1,3,4,*

Department of Pathology1 and Department of Microbiology and Immunology,3 Baylor College of Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine,2 and Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service, Veterans Affairs Medical Center,4 Houston, Texas

Received 8 November 1999/Returned for modification 31 December 1999/Accepted 21 January 2000

Aerococcus urinae is a rarely reported pathogen, possibly due to difficulties in the identification of the organism. A. urinae is a gram-positive coccus that grows in pairs and clusters, produces alpha-hemolysis on blood agar, and is negative for catalase and pyrrolidonyl aminopeptidase. Some of these characteristics and its being absent from the databases of most commercial identification systems could allow A. urinae to be misidentified as a streptococcus, enterococcus, or staphylococcus. We report two cases of urinary tract infection (UTI) caused by A. urinae and characterize these isolates by morphology, biochemical testing, whole-cell fatty acid analysis, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, and antibiotic susceptibilities. Most patients infected with A. urinae are elderly males with predisposing conditions who present initially with UTI. Because A. urinae is resistant to sulfonamides, treatment could be inappropriate, with infections resulting in serious complications, including death. It is important for the clinician and the microbiologist to consider A. urinae a potential pathogen and proceed with thorough microbiological identification.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Pathology and Laboratory Medicine Service (113), Veterans Affairs Medical Center, 2002 Holcombe Blvd., Houston, TX 77030. Phone: (713) 794-7336. Fax: (713) 794-7657. E-mail: jillc{at}bcm.tmc.edu.

Journal of Clinical Microbiology, April 2000, p. 1703-1705, Vol. 38, No. 4
0095-1137/00/$04.00+0
Copyright © 2000, American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.


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