What is hacek group?

What is hacek group?

The HACEK group of bacteria (Haemophilus species, Aggregatibacter species, Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens, and Kingella species) are a small, heterogeneous group of fastidious, gram-negative bacteria that frequently colonize the oropharynx and have long been recognised as a cause of infective endocarditis …

Where are HACEK organisms found?

The HACEK organisms are a normal part of the human microbiota, living in the oral-pharyngeal region.

Are HACEK organisms culture negative?

These organisms can cause “culture negative endocarditis” meaning infection of the endocardium with vegetation formation despite blood cultures not showing evidence of bacteremia. The above organisms require special medium or prolonged incubation to be isolated.

How do you pronounce hacek?

The acronym “HACEK” is common in clinical microbiology, although its pronunciation may be somewhat controversial (hay-sek or hah-sek?).

Can Haemophilus grow on blood agar?

Haemophilus parainfluenzae requires only factor V and therefore is able to grow on blood agar (however, recent reports suggest that many isolates identified as H parainfluenzae actually are H paraphrophilus).

What is fastidious gram-negative bacteria?

Background. Accurate identification of fastidious Gram-negative rods (GNR) is a challenge for clinical microbiology laboratories. Fastidious GNR are slow-growing organisms, which generally require supplemented media or CO2 enriched atmosphere and fail to grow on enteric media such as MacConkey agar [1].

What kind of organism is a HACEK organism?

HACEK originally referred to Haemophilus parainfluenzae, Haemophilus aphrophilus, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens, and Kingella kingae.

Are there any other infections caused by HACEK?

For the most part, endocarditis is the focus of incidence studies of HACEK infections, but other infections can be caused by these organisms. By the mid-1980s, 132 cases of H aphrophilus infection had been reported: 55% endocarditis, 15% brain abscess, and the remainder sinusitis, meningitis, pneumonitis, bacteremia, and empyema.

Is the HACEK group based on taxonomic relationships?

The HACEK group is not based on taxonomic relationships but on the organisms’ propensity to cause endocarditis. All HACEK organisms are commensals of the human oropharynx but how they travel to distal sites to cause disease is not fully established.

How are HACEK organisms associated with endocarditis?

HACEK Organisms are Associated with Infective Endocarditis The HACEK group is not based on taxonomic relationships but on the organisms’ propensity to cause endocarditis. All HACEK organisms are commensals of the human oropharynx but how they travel to distal sites to cause disease is not fully established.

What is hacek group? The HACEK group of bacteria (Haemophilus species, Aggregatibacter species, Cardiobacterium hominis, Eikenella corrodens, and Kingella species) are a small, heterogeneous group of fastidious, gram-negative bacteria that frequently colonize the oropharynx and have long been recognised as a cause of infective endocarditis … Where are HACEK organisms found? The HACEK organisms are…