Unusual infections due to Listeria monocytogenes in the Southern California Desert.

Background: During the past 22 years, 14 patients have been hospitalized with infection due to Listeria monocytogenes at the Eisenhower Medical Center, a regional 300-bed hospital in the desert southwest of Southern California. A large number of patients are retired, elderly, and have underlying and often systemic disease.

Methods: Blood agar and routine media were inoculated with liquid from a sterile site such as blood, cerebrospinal fluid, or joint fluid and observed daily for growth.

Infective endocarditis associated with spondylodiscitis and frequent secondary epidural abscess.

Background: Although many patients with IE complain of joint, muscle, and back pain, infections at these sights are rare. Indeed, in patients with back pain and endocarditis, less than 4% actually demonstrate spondylodiscitis.

Case Description: We recently encountered 4 patients with this complication, one each caused by Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus bovis, Streptococcus mitis, and Enterococcus faecalis, and wondered whether the nature of the infecting organism determined the development of spondylodiscitis and epidural abscess.

Cellulitis and septic arthritis caused by Campylobacter fetus and Campylobacter jejuni: report of 2 cases and review of the literature.

Bacteremia caused by gram-negative bacteria occasionally causes soft tissue infections, including cellulitis and septic arthritis. We describe 1 patient each with Campylobacter fetus cellulitis and septic arthritis and review the world literature with regard to C. fetus and C.

Actinomyces odontolyticus bacteremia.

We describe two immunosuppressed female patients with fever and Actinomyces odontolyticus bacteremia, a combination documented once previously in an immunocompetent male patient. The patients were treated with doxycycline and clindamycin; these drugs, with beta-lactams, are effective treatment for A. odontolyticus infections.