The First Case Report of Mediastinal Abscess Caused by Gemella bergeri

• Published in: Internal Medicine Vol. 60; no. 10; pp. 1631 - 1635
• Main Authors: Toyoshima, Hirokazu, Fujii, Koji, Tanigawa, Motoaki, Nakamura, Akiko, Tanabe, Masaki, Tanaka, Hiroyuki, Nakanishi, Yuki, Sakabe, Shigetoshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Japanese Society of Internal Medicine 15.05.2021; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: 16S rRNA gene sequencing; Abscess - diagnosis; Abscess - drug therapy; Abscesses; Aged; Case Report; Gemella; Gemella bergeri; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections - diagnosis; Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections - drug therapy; Humans; Internal medicine; MALDI-TOF MS; Male; mediastinal abscess; Mediastinal Diseases - diagnostic imaging; Mediastinal Diseases - drug therapy; Microorganisms; Penicillin; Thorax; Trauma; MALDI-TOF MS; mediastinal abscess; 16S rRNA gene sequencing; Gemella bergeri
• ISSN: 0918-2918; 1349-7235
• DOI: 10.2169/internalmedicine.5043-20

Most cases of mediastinal abscess occur as a postoperative complication of a thoracic surgical procedure or following trauma. The most common causative microorganism is Staphylococcus aureus, but it can be rarely caused by unusual microorganisms, such as Gemella species. These are relatively difficult-to-identify commensal microorganisms of the upper respiratory and gastrointestinal tracts and may cause several infections. A 66-year-old man was diagnosed with Gemella bergeri mediastinal abscess by the molecular detection of bacterial genes. He was successfully treated with penicillin antibiotic for eight weeks. To our knowledge, this is the first case report of mediastinal abscess caused by G. bergeri.