Actinomyces and Nocardia

non acid fast

Are actinomyces acid fast or non acid fast?

no

Are actinomyces present on skin surfaces?

non spore forming

Are actinomyces spore forming or non-spore forming?

yes

Are infections caused by actinomyces usually polymicrobial infections?

exogenous

Are nocardia infection endogenous or exogenous?

gram positive

Are the group actinomycetes gram positive or gram negative?

Surgical excision and drainage

Besides antibiotics, what other treatment is there for actinomyces?

Legionella

Buffered charcoal and yeast extract is used to isolate what species?

slow

Do actinomyces grow slow or fast?

Actinomyces

Does the statement describe actinomyces, nocardia or both? Sulfur granules

Actinomyces

Does the statement describe actinomyces, nocardia or both? Treatment: penicillin

Actinomyces

Does the statement describe actinomyces, nocardia or both? facultative or obligate anaerobes

both

Does the statement describe actinomyces, nocardia or both? filamentous rods

Nocardia

Does the statement describe actinomyces, nocardia or both? found in soil

Actinomyces

Does the statement describe actinomyces, nocardia or both? normal flora oral, GI, genital tract

Actinomyces

Does the statement describe actinomyces, nocardia or both? not acid fast

nocardia

Does the statement describe actinomyces, nocardia or both? strict aerobes?

Nocardia

Does the statement describe actinomyces, nocardia or both? treatment: trimethoprim sulfamethoxazole

Nocardia

Does the statement describe actinomyces, nocardia or both? weakly acid fast cells (contains mycolic acid)

both

Does the statement describe actinomyces, nocardia or both? Gram positive

preventing fusion of phagosome-lysosome

How are nocardia able to survive and replicate in macrophages?

binary fission

How do actinomyces reproduce?

organ system

How is actinomycosis classified?

inhalation of airborne bacilli or the traumatic inoculation into the skin

How is nocardia transmitted?

12 months

How long should therapy of nocardia be extended?

shorter

In the modified ziehl Nielsen, are the mycolic acids longer or shorter than mycobacteria?

after local trauma

In the pathogenesis of actinomyces, when do organisms invade tissues?

no

Is nocardia infection transmissible between individuals?

ray

Meaning for the greek word "aktinos"

Actinomycetes

The earthy smell of freshly turned soil is due to the activities of _______ in the soil.

True

True or False: Group actinomycetes are branching filamentous rods

False

True or False: actinomyces are highly virulent and causes disease only when the normal mucosal barriers are disrupted

True

True or False: actinomyces are true bacteria.

False

True or False: actinomyces can be spread from person to person

False

True or False: actinomyces do not branch

False

True or False: actinomyces have a mitochondria and nuclear membrane

False

True or False: actinomyces should be transported in an oxygen container to prevent the loss of organisms

True

True or False: actinomyces specimens must be cultured on nutritionally enriched media for a prolonged period (1-2 weeks)

True

True or False: actinomyces typically develop delicate filamentous forms or hyphae (resembling fungi)

True

True or False: infections caused by actinomyces may occur as acute pyogenic infections or a chronic infection

True

True or False: natural resistance of nocardia is mediated by intact mucous membranes and alveolar and tissue phagocytes

True

True or False: nocardia are capable of growing on most nonselective bacterial media

True

True or False: nocardia are weakly acid fast?

True

True or False: nocardia infections usually occur in patients whose immune status has been compromised (HIV, T cell deficiency, etc. )

True

True or False: some actinomycetes are opportunistic pathogens that cause slowly progressive diseases

A. Israelil, naeslundii, viscosus, odontolyticus, meyeri (strict anaerobe)

What actinomyces are associated with human infection?

Pelvic actinomycosis

What actinomycosis is associated with the use of intra-uterine devices?

Penicillin

What antibiotic are actinomyces susceptible to?

Sulfonamides

What antibiotic is used as the treatment of choice of nocardia?

anti fungal chemotherapeutic agents

What are actinomyces NOT susceptible to?

metronidazole

What are most species of actinomyces resistant to?

Actinomyces

What are potentially pathogenic species that are commensals of the mouth, upper respiratory, urogenital and gastrointestinal (GI) tract (opportunistic)

N. brasiliensis, asteroides, caviae

What are the 3 species of medical importance?

erythromycin and clindamycin

What are the alternative antibiotics that can be used for treatment of actinomyces?

Mycobacteria

What are the cell walls of nocardia similar to?

catalase and superoxide dismutase

What enzymes do pathogenic strains of nocardia secrete?

Nocardia

What genus of actinomycetes are gram positive but stain poorly and appear to be gram negative with intracellular gram positive beads?

Nocardia

What genus of actinomycetes are strict aerobic rods that form branched hyphae?

Nocardia

What genus of actinomycetes is actinomyces morphologically similar to?

Actinomyces

What genus of actinomycetes is characterized by multiple abscesses and interconnecting sinus tracts that contain granules resembling grains of sand that appear in drainage?

Actinomycosis

What is a classic disease caused by actinomyces?

A. israelii

What is the major agent of human actinomycosis?

N. brasiliensis

What is the most common species involved in mycetoma?

cervicofacial

What is the most common type of actinomycosis?

cord factor

What is the prevention of fusion of phagosome-lysosome mediated by?

Toxic Oxygen Metabolites

What is the primary virulence factor of nocardia? (Hint: pathogenic strains avoid phagocytic killing this way)

facultative

What kind of anaerobes are actinomyces?

chronic and slowly progressive diseases

What kind of diseases do actinomyces cause?

cutaneous nocardiosis

What nocardiosis does this description describe? develops after traumatic introduction of organisms into subcutaneous tissues

brochopulmonary nocardiosis

What nocardiosis does this description describe? in immunocompromised patients develops after the initial colonization of the upper respiratory tract by inhalation followed by aspiration of oral secretions into the lower airways; pulmonary infection results in the formation of abscesses with extensive neutrophilic infiltration and necrosis surrounded by granulation tissue

aerial hyphae

What protrudes upward from the surface of a colony of nocardia?

N. asteroides

What species of nocardia causes most cases of pulmonary nocardiosis and may disseminate to the brain?

N. brasiliensis

What species of nocardia is involved in skin and subcutaneous tissue infections?

lymphocutaneous infections

What type of cutaneous nocardiosis involves cutaneous nodules and ulcerations along the lymphatics and regional lymph node

Mycetoma

What type of cutaneous nocardiosis is a painless, chronic infection primarily of the feet?

soil

Where do many species of actinomycetes occur?

Abdominal actinomycosis

Which actinomycosis can follow surgery or trauma to GI tract?

cervicofacial

Which actinomycosis does this describe: Major component of dental plaque and may contribute to dental caries and periodontal disease (a. naeslundii)

Thoracic actinomycosis

Which actinomycosis may follow aspiration of infected material?

Penicillin

Which antibiotic is the drug of choice for actinomyces?

cervicofacial

Which type of actinomycosis is related to poor dental hygiene, tooth extraction or some other trauma to the mouth or jaw infections as a consequence of caries, gingival disease or trauma following dental surgery (A. Israelii)

low oxygen tension

Why do the organisms multiply during the pathogenesis of actinomyces?

Modified Ziehl-Neelsen

a weak decolorizing solution of hydrochloric acid used to demonstrate the acid fast property in nocardia. What staining solution is being used?

actinomycosis

an endogenous, subacute to chronic granulomatous inflammatory disease that gives rise to suppuration, abscess formation and draining sinus tracts during its course

Actinomyces

branching filamentous rod that branch at acute angles

Nocardiosis

disease caused by nocardia

sulfur granules

masses of filamentous bacterial cells cemented together by calcium phosphate and are surrounded by fibrosing granulation tissue (hard consistency); colonies appear yellow or orange

fungi

meaning for the greek word "mykes"

cutaneous nocardiosis

Skin abscesses or cellulitis fall into which category of nocardiosis?