VIRIDANS STREPTOCOCCI IN BLOOD CULTURES - CAN WE SEE ANY PATTERNS OF SPECIES-RELATED TO PATIENT CATEGORY

We present a review of 229 blood cultures with viridans streptococci c ollected during a period of eight and a half years from 1986 to 1994 a t a teaching hospital in Sweden. The clinical significance of the grow th of viridans streptococci is always uncertain, since these bacteria call be contaminants from the skin nora. Growth in more than one cultu re bottle strengthens the clinical value of the finding. The question was whether species identification might also help in the assessment o f the clinical relevance of the finding. The results show that Strepto coccus mitis occurs significantly more frequently in blood cultures fr om the departments dealing with cancer patients. Even with polymicrobi al growth in blood cultures. S. mitis should be considered a pathogen of clinical relevance, not a contaminant.