Arthrobacter woluwensis subacute infective endocarditis:: case report and review of the literature

We report a case of endocarditis due to Arthrobacter woluwensis and review the published reports of Arthrobacter species isolated from human clinical samples. A 39-year-old injection drug user presented with fever and a new heart murmur. A. woluwensis was isolated from blood cultures, and a diagnosis of subacute infective endocarditis of the native mitral valve was made. The patient was successfully treated with a 6-week course of intravenous teicoplanin. From our review of the literature, we were able to retrieve data on 41 cases of Arthrobacter species isolated from human clinical samples. However, Arthrobacter species was documented as a cause of human disease on only 5 other occasions (2 cases of bacteremia, 1 case of postoperative endophthalmitis, 1 case of a Whipple disease-like syndrome, and 1 case of phlebitis). Because of the difficulty of identifying Arthrobacter strains by conventional biochemical assays, it is likely that infections with these coryneform bacteria are underreported.