Comment on “Necrotizing Urethritis due to Aerococcus urinae”

Abstract

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I read with interest the case report of a man with necrotizing urethritis caused by* Aerococcus urinae* by Babaeer and coworkers [1]. This report clearly describes a novel and serious clinical presentation of an infection claimed to be caused by* Aerococcus urinae*. Soft tissue infections in the genital area caused by this organism have been described previously [2, 3] but the case described by Babaeer et al. adds important information on a severe course of infection. However, important questions regarding the aetiology in this case remain unanswered.

Species determination of aerococci is a difficult task with many pitfalls [4]. Therefore, it is vital for the reader to know how the identification of* A. urinae* in the urine culture was made in the present case. Of even greater importance, the reader needs to know if the “Alpha Haemolytic Streptococcus” isolated from tissue and from blood also could represent* A. urinae*. Without an explanation of the bacteriological investigations of the isolates from this patient, it is hard to determine the bacterial aetiology of the infection described.