Isolation of Aggregatibacter aphrophilus from a patient with acute appendicitis

A.M. Aye 1, C.W. Law 2, N.S. Sabet 1, R. Karunakaran 1, Y.A. Hanifah 1, F.L. Jafar 1, S. Abubakar 1

¹ Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) ² Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)

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• Infectious Diseases

Objectives: Acute appendicitis is a common surgical emergency. The etiology and pathophysiology of appendicitis have been well investigated. Aggregatibacter aphrophilus is a fastidious gram-negative coccobacilli. Detection of this organism in clinical samples and its differentiation from Haemophilus aphrophilus or from Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans in routine microbiology settings could be difficult.

Methods: In this rare case, we report the isolation of Aggregatibacter aphrophilus from the appendix of a 14-year old boy presented with acute appendicitis. The genotypic method using 16S rRNA sequencing was used for identification of the organism at species level.

Conclusion: This case highlights the importance of detecting fastidious and rare microorganisms such as Aggregatibacter aphrophilus that could be associated with acute appendicitis.

Corresponding Author: Negar Shafiei Sabet, Ph.D.; e-mail: negar@um.edu.my

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