Actinobaculum schaalii, a common uropathogen in elderly patients, Denmark.
Actinobaculum schaalii can cause urinary tract infections and septicemia but is difficult to identify by cultivation. To obtain a fast diagnosis and identify A. schaalii, we developed a TaqMan real-time quantitative PCR. Routine urine samples were obtained from 177 hospitalized patients and 75 outpatients in Viborg County, Denmark, in 2008-2009. The PCR detected A. schaalii in 22% of samples from patients >60 years of age. This assay showed that A. schaalii is more common than implied by routine cultivation. In 90% of PCR-positive urine samples, other common uropathogens were identified. This finding suggests that A. schaalii is a common, undetected, bacterial pathogen. Our results suggest that A. schaalii may be a more common pathogen than previously thought, especially in patients with unexplained chronic urinary tract infections, who are often treated with trimethoprim or ciprofloxacin, to which A. schaalii is resistant.
Bank
Steffen
S
Department of Clinical Microbiology, Viborg Hospital, Heibergs Allé 4, DK-8800 Viborg, Denmark. stb@mb.au.dk
Jensen
Anders
A
Hansen
Thomas M
TM
Søby
Karen M
KM
Prag
Jørgen
J
D000191:Actinomycetaceae / Q000235:genetics; D000193:Actinomycetales Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003718:Denmark / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010802:Phylogeny; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D014556:Urine / Q000382:microbiology