Keith Elaine R, Podmore Roslyn G, Anderson Trevor P, Murdoch David R
Microbiology Unit, Canterbury Health Laboratories, P.O. Box 151, Christchurch, New Zealand.
J Clin Microbiol. 2006 Mar;44(3):923-7. doi: 10.1128/JCM.44.3.923-927.2006.
Streptococcus pseudopneumoniae is a recently described streptococcus that is phenotypically and genetically distinct from Streptococcus pneumoniae and other viridans streptococci. Key characteristics of S. pseudopneumoniae are the absence of a pneumococcal capsule, insolubility in bile, resistance or indeterminate susceptibility to optochin when incubated in 5% CO2 but susceptibility to optochin when incubated in ambient air, and a positive reaction with the AccuProbe DNA probe hybridization test. The clinical importance of this bacterium is currently unknown. We report the characteristics and associated clinical data of 35 strains of S. pseudopneumoniae isolated from sputum samples from 33 patients. All isolates produced a positive result with the NOW S. pneumoniae antigen test (Binax, Inc.). No isolate was resistant to penicillin, but 60% were resistant to erythromycin and 77% were resistant to tetracycline. All patients had lower respiratory tract symptoms, 79% had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and 33% had chest radiographic infiltrates. Compared with matched control patients who had Streptococcus pneumoniae isolated from sputum, patients with S. pseudopneumoniae infection were more likely to have a history of COPD (odds ratio [OR], 5.0; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.67 to 20.11) or exacerbation of COPD (OR, 6.5; 95% CI, 2.61 to 16.20). Further research is needed to better characterize the epidemiology of S. pseudopneumoniae colonization and the role of S. pseudopneumoniae in COPD and other diseases.
伪肺炎链球菌是一种最近被描述的链球菌,在表型和基因上与肺炎链球菌及其他草绿色链球菌不同。伪肺炎链球菌的关键特征包括没有肺炎球菌荚膜、不溶于胆汁、在5%二氧化碳环境中培养时对奥普托欣耐药或敏感性不确定,但在空气中培养时对奥普托欣敏感,以及与AccuProbe DNA探针杂交试验呈阳性反应。目前尚不清楚这种细菌的临床重要性。我们报告了从33例患者痰液样本中分离出的35株伪肺炎链球菌的特征及相关临床数据。所有分离株的NOW肺炎链球菌抗原检测(Binax公司)结果均为阳性。没有分离株对青霉素耐药,但60%对红霉素耐药,77%对四环素耐药。所有患者均有下呼吸道症状,79%患有慢性阻塞性肺疾病(COPD),33%有胸部影像学浸润。与从痰液中分离出肺炎链球菌的匹配对照患者相比,伪肺炎链球菌感染患者更有可能有COPD病史(优势比[OR],5.0;95%置信区间[CI],1.67至20.11)或COPD加重(OR,6.5;95%CI,2.61至16.20)。需要进一步研究以更好地描述伪肺炎链球菌定植的流行病学特征以及伪肺炎链球菌在COPD和其他疾病中的作用。