Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Clin Cases. Oct 16, 2025; 13(29): 110965
Published online Oct 16, 2025. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v13.i29.110965
Granulicatella infections: Comprehensive review of an elusive opportunistic pathogen
Syed Faqeer Hussain Bokhari, Danyal Bakht, Maaz Amir, Hafiz Muhammad Haris, Noor Ul Ain, Muhammad Shoaib Qureshi, Faiza Yousaf, Rabia Yousaf, Khawar Ali, Muhammad Arsham Javed, Muhammad Numan Awais, Maheen Zahid, Muneeba Shaukat, Shermeen Usman, Ahmad Hassan, Maham Ejaz
Syed Faqeer Hussain Bokhari, Danyal Bakht, Maaz Amir, Hafiz Muhammad Haris, Noor Ul Ain, Muhammad Shoaib Qureshi, Faiza Yousaf, Khawar Ali, Muhammad Arsham Javed, Maheen Zahid, Muneeba Shaukat, Shermeen Usman, Ahmad Hassan, Department of Medicine, King Edward Medical University, Lahore 54000, Punjab, Pakistan
Rabia Yousaf, Department of Medicine, Shifa College of Medicine, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad 46000, Punjab, Pakistan
Muhammad Numan Awais, Department of Medicine, Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College, Bogra 5800, Rājshāhi, Bangladesh
Maham Ejaz, Department of Medicine, Services Institute of Medical Sciences, Services Hospital, Lahore 54000, Punjab, Pakistan
Author contributions: Bokhari SFH, Bakht D, and Amir M conceptualized and designed the review, supervised the research process, and contributed significantly to manuscript drafting and critical revision; Haris HM, Ain NU, and Qureshi MS conducted the literature search, screened relevant case reports and series, and assisted in data interpretation; Yousaf F, Ali K, and Javed MA contributed to refining the inclusion criteria, organizing extracted data, and preparing preliminary drafts; Zahid M, Shaukat M, and Usman S were involved in data verification, formatting, and reference management; Hassan A, Yousaf R, Ejaz M, and Awais MN contributed to proofreading, final edits, and manuscript polishing; All authors reviewed and approved the final version of the manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Muhammad Numan Awais, MBBS, Department of Medicine, Shaheed Ziaur Rahman Medical College, Silimpur, Bogra 5800, Rājshāhi, Bangladesh. muhammadnumanawais433@gmail.com
Received: June 19, 2025
Revised: July 7, 2025
Accepted: July 31, 2025
Published online: October 16, 2025
Processing time: 70 Days and 12.8 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Granulicatella species, formerly known as nutritionally variant streptococci, are increasingly recognized as significant pathogens in infective endocarditis and other systemic infections. This narrative review synthesizes published case reports and series to highlight the diverse clinical manifestations, diagnostic challenges, and treatment outcomes associated with Granulicatella and Abiotrophia infections. By underscoring the rarity and complexity of these organisms, this work emphasizes the need for heightened clinical awareness and more standardized diagnostic approaches.