Corynebacterium striatummeningitis: report of two adult cases

Corynebacterium striatum is a known saprophytic cutaneous bacterium. However, during the last decade, this organism has been increasingly recognized as a human pathogen. This organism has occasionally been reported as a cause of serious infection in man, however, there are few reports about shunt infections. We describe the clinical and laboratory findings in two patients with C. striatum meningitis after cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt. The two patients had a ventricular external drainage. C. striatum were isolated in CSF from both cases. The patients were treated with intravenous vancomycin, followed by shunt replacement. One patient died on the fifth day of antibiotic therapy. The other patient recovered completely. Keywords: Corynebacterium, ventricular external drainage, menigitis.