title: Enterococcus cecorum empyema thoracis successfully treated with cefotaxime.
abstract: We report the first case of Enterococcus cecorum empyema thoracis and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in a 44-year-old man with underlying cirrhosis. The patient responded to cefotaxime (MIC, 0.25 microg/ml) treatment and drainage of the empyema. Susceptibility of E. cecorum to expanded-spectrum cephalosporins could be due to its production of types of penicillin-binding proteins similar to those produced by Streptococcus species rather than to those produced by Enterococcus species (as predicted by phylogenetic analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequences).
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, The University of Hong Kong, University Pathology Building, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong.
authors.forename: Patrick C Y
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.forename: Dorothy M W
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.forename: Susanna K P
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Lau
authors.forename: Ami M Y
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Fung
authors.forename: Kwok-Yung
authors.initials: KY
authors.lastname: Yuen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D044466:Asian People; D002439:Cefotaxime / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002681:China; D004653:Empyema / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology; D016983:Enterococcus / Q000145:classification / Q000187:drug effects / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D002439:Cefotaxime