title: Isolation, speciation, and antibiogram of clinically relevant non-diphtherial Corynebacteria (Diphtheroids).
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Coryneform or the non-diphtherial Corynebacterium species largely remains a neglected group with the traditional consideration of these organisms as contaminants. This concept, however, is slowly changing in the light of recent observations. This study has been done to find out the species distribution and antibiogram of various members of the clinically relevant Coryneform group, isolated from various clinical materials.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and fourteen non-duplicate isolates of diphtheroids from various clinical isolates were selected for the study. The isolates were identified to the species level by using a battery of tests; and antimicrobial susceptibility was tested by using a combination of Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) and the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy (BSAC) guidelines, in the absence of definitive CLSI guidelines.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Corynebacterium amycolatum was the predominant species (35.9%) in our series followed by the CDC Group G organisms (15.7%). Each of the remaining 19 species comprised of less than 10% of the isolates. More than half the total isolates were resistant to the penicillins, erythromycin, and clindamycin; while excellent activity (all the strains being susceptible) was shown by vancomycin, linezolid, and tigecycline. Chloramphenicol and tetracycline also had good activity in inhibiting more than 80% of the isolates. Multiply drug resistance was exhibited by all the species.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study was an attempt to establish the clinical significance of coryneform organisms. The high level of resistance shown by this group to some of the common antibacterial agents highlights the importance of processing these isolates in select conditions to guide the clinicians towards an appropriate therapy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, Sri Venkateswara Institute of Medical Sciences, Tirupati - 517 507, Andhra Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: B S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chaudhury
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Kalawat
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jayaprada
authors.forename: Gsk
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Reddy
authors.forename: B V
authors.initials: BV
authors.lastname: Ramana
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003352:Corynebacterium / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003354:Corynebacterium Infections / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents