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CASE REPORT

Endocarditis Due to Kytococcus schroeteri: Case Report and Review of the Literature

Laboratoire de Microbiologie, CHU Habib Bourguiba, Sfax 3029, Tunisia,¹ Service de chirurgie cardio-vasculaire, CHU Habib Bourguiba, Sfax 3029, Tunisia,² Service de cardiologie, CHU Hedi Chaker, Sfax 3029, Tunisia³

Received 16 October 2005/ Returned for modification 13 November 2005/ Accepted 29 December 2005

We report the third case of endocarditis caused by the newly described micrococcal species Kytococcus schroeteri. A 49-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital with suspected prosthetic valve endocarditis. Five blood cultures and prosthetic valve cultures grew the same type of organism, initially identified as Micrococcus sp. Assignment to the genus Kytococcus was suggested by the arginine dihydrolase activity and resistance to oxacillin. After sequencing of the 16S rRNA genes, the isolate was recognized as K. schroeteri. The patient was treated first with vancomycin combined with gentamicin and later with pristinamycin and rifampin. Three cases of K. schroeteri endocarditis described within a short period of time might indicate a specific pathogenicity of this new species. The isolation of kytococci from normally sterile sites should not be overlooked.