Eikenella corrodens and intrauterine contraceptive device [letter]

We have isolated Eikenella corrodens from 5 women fitted with a copper-tailed IUD. The symptoms were lower abdominal pain and vaginal discharge. E corrodens was cultured on chocolate agar after 72 hours of incubation in 5% CO2 (table). The bacterium was predominant in the inflammatory cervical secretions in cases 1 and 2; in case 3 the local reaction was mild but E corrodens was isolated in pure culture; in cases 4 and 5 the symptoms were so severe that the IUDs had to be removed and E corrodens was cultured from them. E corrodens is a fastidious gram-negative facultative anerobe found in the oral cavity and upper respiratory gastrointestinal and genitourinary tracts. Infections caused by the organism alone or in synergy with other bacteria are now better documented. E corrodens is thought to be an opportunistic agent and has been associated with dental plaque and prosthetic materials. Infection with E corrodens has also been recognized after human bites crush and fist-fight injuries and in a case of cervicitis in a 40-year-old woman with an IUD. IUDs may provide a sanctuary for the organism. Since E corrodens can cause severe septic complications its possible presence in cervicovaginal infections of IUD-bearing women should be borne in mind. (full text)