Skin colonization by Corynebacterium groups D2 and JK in hospitalized patients.

To determine the prevalence of Corynebacterium group D2 and JK organisms on the skin of different types of patients, 200 hospitalized subjects, half of them admitted to a university hospital and the others in a chronic care institution, were surveyed. Samples were taken from the axilla, groin, and abdominal wall. Corynebacterium group D2 and JK organisms were isolated from at least one of the three skin sites in both groups of patients. Only five patients harbored groups D2 and JK at the same time but a different skin sites. The rate of colonization by group D2 organisms was higher in females (43.3%) than in males (17.7%); on the contrary, group JK organisms were isolated more frequently from males (32.1%) than from females (13.5%). All these differences were statistically significant. Corynebacterium group D2 and JK organisms are widely distributed on the skin of hospitalized patients, and the prevalence is sex related.