Polymicrobial anaerobic bacteremia due to Atopobium rimae and Parvimonas micra in a patient with cancer

Atopobium rimae and Parvimonas micra are both Gram-positive anaerobes involved infrequently in human infections. We report a polymicrobial anaerobic bacteremia caused by these microorganisms. A 43 year-old woman receiving coadjuvant chemotherapy due to a retroperitoneal leiomiosarcoma presented with nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and fever (38 degrees C). The two blood cultures resulted in isolation of A. rimae and P. micra, being identified at species level by matrix assisted laser desorption time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) technology with high log scores. The microorganisms were susceptible to penicilllin, amoxicillin-clavulanate, piperacillin-tazobactam, clindamycin, metronidazole, imipenem, and moxifloxacin. Treatment with levofloxacin was started and subsequently it was changed to piperacillin/tazobactam plus metronidazole and completed for 10 days, but the patient died days later due to her underlying disease. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.