Prescription of Rifampicin for Staphylococcus aureus Infections Increased the Incidence of Corynebacterium striatum with Decreased Susceptibility to Rifampicin in a Hungarian Clinical Center

Several reports have suggested a role for Corynebacterium striatum as an opportunistic pathogen. The authors have conducted a retrospective study at the Clinical Center of the University of Szeged, Hungary, between 2012 and 2021 that revealed significantly increased rifampicin resistance in this species. This work aimed to investigate the reasons behind this phenomenon. The data were collected corresponding to the period between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2021 at the Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Szeged. To characterize the resistance trends, the antibiotic resistance index was calculated for each antibiotic in use. Fourteen strains with different resistance patterns were further analyzed with Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy using the IR Biotyper(®). The decline in C. striatum sensitivity to rifampicin seen during the COVID-19 pandemic may have been attributable to the use of Rifadin(®) to treat concomitant Staphylococcus aureus infections. The fact that the IR Biotyper(®) typing method revealed that the rifampicin-resistant C. striatum strains were closely related supports this hypothesis. The IR Biotyper(®) infrared spectroscopy proved to be a modern and fast method to support effective antimicrobial stewardship programs.