The Role of Corynebacteria in the Development of Purulent-Inflammatory Infections

Objective. To systematize and summarize current data on the role of nondiphtherial corynebacteria (Corynebacterium spp.) in the development of purulent-inflammatory infections of various anatomic sites and to review current methods of their laboratory diagnosis.
Materials and Methods. Analysis of Russian and international publications devoted to taxonomy, biological properties, pathogenetic potential, and antibiotic resistance of microorganisms of the genus Corynebacterium was performed. Current methods of species identification are reviewed: bacteriological, biochemical (API Coryne), molecular genetic (16S rRNA gene sequencing), and mass spectrometric (MALDI-ToF-MS).
Results. More than 53 species of corynebacteria have clinical significance. The most frequently isolated from infectious foci are C. striatum, C. jeikeium, C. amycolatum, C. simulans, C. aurimucosum, and several other species. They cause skin lesions (erythrasma, pitted keratolysis), infect burn wounds, cause pneumonia, endocarditis, urinary tract infections, osteomyelitis, and sepsis with mortality rates up to 30%. Several species–C. tuberculostearicum, C. kroppenstedii, C. simulans–are associated with chronic inflammatory and oncologic skin lesions. Many clinically significant species possess multidrug resistance; vancomycin and linezolid remain the antibiotics of choice.
Conclusion. Nondiphtherial corynebacteria are significant opportunistic microorganisms capable of causing severe infections in immunocompromised patients. Timely species identification using modern methods (MALDI-ToF-MS, 16S rRNA sequencing) and determination of antibiotic susceptibility are necessary to improve treatment effectiveness.

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