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Actinomyces odontolyticus

Question
Hello,
the above mentioned germ has been found in the sputum, the throat swab was free of it.
Should a treatment be initiated?
Best regards,
Answer
Dear questioner,
actinomycetes (among those A. odontolyticus) belong to the physiological flora of the upper airways. Therefore the finding of those germs has not necessarily to be treated. Actinomycetes grow (facultatively) anaerob and relatively slow, so that their cultivation is not easy. The discrepant finding of the sputum and the swab can therefore have several reasons. With specific, e.g. molecular methods, actinomycetes can be regularly found in the sputum of CF patients together with other anaerobe germs. Until now, the meaning of anaerobe germs for the lung disease of CF patients and the question of the necessity of a treatment is not clear yet. The indication for an antibiotic therapy can only be answered in this case if different factors are taken into accout: amount of germs, other germ spectrum, course of lung function, exacerbation, preceeding therapies etc. Actinomycetes are in general well sensible to antibiotics /(e.g. beta-lactam antibiotics), so that those germs are often treated by an antibiotic therapie against Pseudomonas or Staphylcocci, too.
You should discuss the findings with your treating physician.
Best regards,
Michael Hogardt
11.05.2018