16S rRNA deep sequencing identifies Actinotignum schaalii as the major component of a polymicrobial intra-abdominal infection and implicates a urinary source

摘要

It can be difficult to catalogue the individual organisms comprising polymicrobial patient infections, both because conventional clinical microbiological culture does not facilitate the isolation and enumeration of all members of a complex microbial community, and because fastidious organisms may be mixed with organisms that grow rapidly in vitro. Empiric antimicrobial treatment is frequently employed based on the anatomical site and the suspected source of the infection, especially when an appropriately collected surgical specimen is not obtained.