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?
