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Inicio Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica (English Edition) Bacteremia due to Leuconostoc species: A 13-year single-center case series
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Vol. 42. Issue 3.
Pages 149-151 (March 2024)
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Vol. 42. Issue 3.
Pages 149-151 (March 2024)
Brief report
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Bacteremia due to Leuconostoc species: A 13-year single-center case series
Bacteriemia por Leuconostoc spp.: serie de casos en un hospital de tercer nivel a lo largo de 13 años
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José María Casoa,
Corresponding author
jmcasolaviana@gmail.com

Corresponding author.
, Raúl Reciob, María Ruiz-Ruigómezc, María Ángeles Orellanab, Mario Fernández-Ruizc,d,e
a Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitario “12 de Octubre”, Instituto de Investigación Hospital “12 de Octubre” (imas12), Madrid, Spain
b Department of Microbiology, Hospital Universitario “12 de Octubre”, Instituto de Investigación Hospital “12 de Octubre” (imas12), Madrid, Spain
c Unit of Infectious Diseases, Hospital Universitario “12 de Octubre”, Instituto de Investigación Hospital “12 de Octubre” (imas12), Madrid, Spain
d Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain
e Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Enfermedades Infecciosas (CIBERINFEC), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Spain
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Table 1. Clinical and microbiological characteristics, therapeutic regimens and outcome of four cases of Leuconostoc spp. bacteremia.
Abstract
Introduction

Leuconostoc spp. are facultatively anaerobic Gram-positive cocci involved in cases of hospital-acquired bacteremia, mainly in immunocompromised hosts. The available data is scarce due to its uncommon presentation.

Methods

We describe all the episodes of Leuconostoc spp. bacteremia in a third level hospital in a 13-year period (2008–2021).

Results

Four cases of clinically relevant bacteremia were detected. All cases were categorized as catheter-related. The following risk factors were found: previous glycopeptide therapy (75%), use of parenteral nutrition (100%) and cancer (75%). All isolates showed susceptibility to beta-lactams. Catheter removal was performed and wide spectrum antimicrobials were administered, with clinical response in all cases except one.

Discussion

Apart from cancer and glycopeptide exposure, disruption of skin barrier and gastrointestinal conditions were identified as risk factors, as it was concordantly underlined in other case series. Susceptibility to beta-lactams is usually maintained. Catheter removal and administration of an active antibacterial therapy seem to be the best approach for Leuconostoc spp. catheter-related bacteremia.

Keywords:
Leuconostoc spp
Bacteremia
Infection
Treatment
Outcome
Resumen
Introducción

Los microorganismos del género Leuconostoc son cocos grampositivos anaerobios facultativos, involucrados en casos de bacteriemia en pacientes hospitalizados, especialmente con factores de inmunosupresión. La literatura disponible es escasa por su baja frecuencia.

Métodos

Describimos todos los episodios de bacteriemia por Leuconostoc spp. en un hospital de tercer nivel en un periodo de 13 años (2008-2021).

Resultados

Se detectaron 4 aislamientos clínicamente significativos. Todos ellos fueron categorizados como bacteriemia relacionada con catéter. Se identificaron como factores de riesgo: la exposición previa a glucopéptidos (75%), nutrición parenteral (100%) y cáncer (75%). Todos los aislamientos presentaron sensibilidad a betalactámicos. Se procedió a retirada del catéter y se administraron antimicrobianos de amplio espectro con buena respuesta clínica, salvo en un caso.

Discusión

Además del cáncer y la exposición a glucopéptidos, la disrupción de la barrera cutánea y las enfermedades gastrointestinales se identificaron como factores de riesgo, al igual que en otras series. La sensibilidad a betalactámicos suele mantenerse. La retirada del catéter y el uso de terapia antibiótica activa parece ser la mejor alternativa terapéutica para la bacteriemia relacionada con catéter por Leuconostoc spp.

Palabras clave:
Leuconostoc spp
Bacteriemia
Infección
Tratamiento
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Full Text
Introduction

Leuconostoc spp. (order Lactobacillales) are catalase-negative, alpha-hemolytic, facultatively anaerobic Gram-positive cocci usually arranged in pairs or chains and often found in fermenting vegetables, milk, dairy products, wines and meats. These bacteria exhibit high-level intrinsic resistance to glycopeptides due to the presence of peptidoglycan precursors of the cell wall terminating in d-alanyl-d-lactate rather than d-alanyl-d-alanine.1 Although once considered as non-pathogenic, since 1985 Leuconostoc spp. has been occasionally reported to be involved in hospital-acquired infections among immunocompromised patients2–4 or low birth weight premature neonates with underlying gastrointestinal conditions.5,6 One case of bacteremia was reported in an immunocompetent adult with ileum perforation.7 However, available data regarding risk factors, therapeutic approaches and outcomes is limited. We aimed to describe clinical features and outcome of all cases of Leuconostoc spp. bacteremia in our institution.

Methods

We reviewed all cases of documented, clinically significant Leuconostoc spp. bacteremia diagnosed over a 13-year period (January 2008–December 2021) in a 1300-bed tertiary-care center in Madrid (Spain) with a reference population of 451,000 inhabitants in 2020. Cases were identified through the computerized database of the Department of Microbiology and defined by the isolation of Leuconostoc spp. in one or more blood cultures in the presence of symptoms and signs of systemic infection. Blood samples were processed using the BacT/Alert 3D® and BacT/Alert VIRTUO® systems (bioMérieux, Marcy-l’Étoile, France). All blood culture bottles were incubated for 5 days before being considered as negative. All isolates were identified with the VITEK® 2 system (bioMérieux) and, since 2014, with the MALDI-TOF MS Biotyper system (Bruker Daltonics Inc., Bremen, Germany). Antimicrobial susceptibility to penicillin, ceftriaxone, levofloxacin, vancomycin and cotrimoxazole was tested by the agar disk-diffusion method using Mueller-Hilton agar supplemented with sheep blood at 5% (bioMérieux) in accordance with the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute (M45, CLSI). Since breakpoints of many antimicrobials are not available for Leuconostoc spp. in CLSI documents, we applied the Streptococcus pneumoniae breakpoints described in the 2006, 2010 and 2016 CLSI editions.

Results

We identified eight episodes of positive blood cultures for Leuconostoc spp. during the study period. Four were considered contaminants due the positivity of a single set of at least two drawn at the same time. Table 1 details the clinical and microbiological characteristics of the remaining four cases of true Leuconostoc spp. bacteremia. The clinical presentation fulfilled the definition of sepsis and included fever and elevation of acute phase reactants, although none of the episodes progressed to septic shock. Three of the patients exhibited at least one condition leading to immune compromise, including cancer (three cases), neutropenia (i.e. absolute neutrophil count<0.50×109cells/L) or corticosteroid therapy (two cases each). The diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia was present in two patients. The four episodes were considered as likely related to the intravascular catheter due to the absence of an alternative origin of bacteremia and the rapid clearance following catheter withdrawal. Follow-up blood cultures were obtained and were sterile in all four cases. Polymicrobial infection was present in one case in which Staphylococcus capitis was concomitantly identified in blood cultures, a circumstance that would support the diagnosis of catheter-related bacteremia. Three of our patients had received vancomycin or teicoplanin within the 90 days preceding the onset of bacteremia. All isolates in our series showed susceptibility to penicillin, ceftriaxone and levofloxacin, whereas cotrimoxazole resistance was documented in one single case. All isolates were susceptible to beta-lactams, although the therapeutic regimens used were quite heterogeneous and included linezolid, levofloxacin, clindamycin and tigecycline. Catheter removal was performed in all four cases.

Table 1.

Clinical and microbiological characteristics, therapeutic regimens and outcome of four cases of Leuconostoc spp. bacteremia.

Case  Date  Gender/age  Underlying condition  Additional risk factors  Indwelling vascular catheters  Exposure to glycopeptides in the previous 90 days  Isolated species  Presumed source  Catheter removal (days after bacteremia)  Catheter tip culture  Antibiotic therapy  Length of therapy  Outcome 
2008  F/6 months  Acute myeloid leukemia  Neutropenia, corticosteroid therapy  CVC, PVC  Yes  Leuconostoc spp.  Intravascular catheter  Yes (0 days)  Sterile  Meropenem  36 days  Clinical response, death due to unrelated causes 
2010  M/63 years  Hypopharynx epidermoid carcinoma  Diabetes mellitus  PVC  No  Leuconostoc mesenteroides  Intravascular catheter  Yes (0 days)  No  Amoxicillin/clavulanate  3 days  Death due to unrelated causes 
2013  M/45 years  Acute myeloid leukemia  Neutropenia, corticosteroid therapy  CVC, PVC  Yes  Leuconostoc spp.  Intravascular catheter  Yes (3 days)  Sterile  Levofloxacin, clindamycin  14 days  Clinical and microbiological response 
2018  F/72 years  Acute pancreatitis  None  CVC, PVC  Yes  Leuconostoc lactis  Intravascular catheter  Yes (3 days)  Leuconostoc lactis  Tigecycline  14 days  Clinical and microbiological response 

CVC: central venous catheter; F: female; M: male; PVC: peripheral venous catheter.

Discussion

Previous studies have documented the increased susceptibility to Leuconostoc spp. bacteremia among patients with cancer, in which prolonged hospitalization periods and exposure to broad-spectrum antibiotics may play a role.2,8 Four out of nine cancer patients in a previous series reported also had a hematological malignancy, mainly acute lymphoblastic leukemia.3 In addition to the impairment of host immune response, the disruption of skin barrier function due to the presence of indwelling vascular catheters is another major contributor to Leuconostoc spp. infection.2,4 Parenteral nutrition was also identified as a risk factor in a case-control study performed in the setting of a hospital outbreak of L. mesenteroides subsp. mesenteroides bacteremia.2 The predominance of the vascular catheter as the presumed source of infection is concordant with the results reported by a recent Taiwanese cohort comprising 20 episodes, although none of the nine central venous catheter (CVC) tips cultured yielded Gram-positive cocci.4 Bacterial translocation from the gastrointestinal tract has been also proposed as a potential source among patients with malignancies.3 We should point out as a limitation the absence of a definite diagnosis of catheter-related bloodstream infection. CVC tip culture was negative in almost all cases of our series, except case #4. In addition, one single set of blood culture was obtained in each case, therefore differential time to positivity was not possible to perform. Antibiotic exposure in the preceding weeks has been identified as a frequent risk factor in previous studies, with glycopeptides and broad-spectrum beta-lactams being the agents most commonly reported.2–4

Misidentification of Leuconostoc spp. isolates is not uncommon since colonies may resemble viridans group streptococci or enterococci when cultured on sheep blood agar.9 The presence of alpha-hemolytic, catalase-negative Gram-positive cocci with high-level vancomycin resistance and negative for pyrrolidonyl aminopeptidase (PYR) and l-leucine aminopeptidase (LAP) production serve as criteria for genus-level differentiation.9 Initial misidentification with Weissella spp. was frequent due to its phenotypical and biochemical similarities, but currently definite identification can be achieved with MALDI-TOF.10,11

As exemplified by this and other series,4Leuconostoc spp. isolates were susceptible to beta-lactams. The optimal duration of therapy is not well established, although the criteria used for catheter-related bacteremia due to coagulase-negative staphylococci would be applicable. The prolonged course of meropenem therapy in case #1 may be explained by the lack of clinical stability and the uncertainty on the focus of infection. The successful use of tygecicline has been recently reported in a neutropenic patient.12 In line with most3,13 but not all previous series,4 outcomes were overall good, with no cases of persistent bacteremia or attributable mortality.

In conclusion, bacteremia due to Leuconostoc spp. is an uncommon but expected condition in patients with predisposing factors such as immune impairment, indwelling vascular catheters or previous exposure to vancomycin. Its relevance lies in the appropriate choice of therapy, given the difficulty to differentiate Leuconostoc spp. isolates from other Gram-positive cocci that are usually susceptible to glycopeptides. Once genus identification is confirmed, infection focus should be removed and antimicrobial treatment must be verified.

Funding sources

R.R. hold a research training contract “Río Hortega” (CM19/00229) and M.F.R. a research contract “Miguel Servet” (CP 18/00073), both from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Instituto de Salud Carlos III.

Conflict of interest

All authors: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Copyright © 2023. Sociedad Española de Enfermedades Infecciosas y Microbiología Clínica
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