Indian Journal of Critical Care Medicine

Register      Login

SEARCH WITHIN CONTENT

FIND ARTICLE

Volume / Issue

Online First

Archive
Related articles

VOLUME 18 , ISSUE 9 ( September, 2014 ) > List of Articles

CASE REPORT

Sepsis associated with Lactobacillus bacteremia in a patient with ischemic colitis

Hrishikesh S. Kulkarni, Charbel C. Khoury

Keywords : Bacteremia, colitis, ischemia, Lactobacillus, sepsis

Citation Information : Kulkarni HS, Khoury CC. Sepsis associated with Lactobacillus bacteremia in a patient with ischemic colitis. Indian J Crit Care Med 2014; 18 (9):606-608.

DOI: 10.4103/0972-5229.140152

License: CC BY-ND 3.0

Published Online: 01-10-2007

Copyright Statement:  Copyright © 2014; The Author(s).


Abstract

Lactobacillus species is a known commensal of the mouth, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary tract. However, its isolation on blood cultures is often overlooked and attributed to bench contamination. We present a case of a 58-year-old immunocompetent male who initially presented with altered mental status, but developed sepsis from Lactobacillus bacteremia during his hospital course, while on mechanical ventilation. He was found to have ischemic colitis on colonoscopy. His condition improved with antibiotics and supportive management. Using this example of ischemic colitis, we stress that in the right clinical setting, Lactobacillus bacteremia is a harbinger for a serious underlying pathology and should not be ignored.


PDF Share
  1. Antony SJ, Stratton CW, Dummer JS. Lactobacillus bacteremia: Description of the clinical course in adult patients without endocarditis. Clin Infect Dis 1996;23:773-8.
  2. Bourne KA, Beebe JL, Lue YA, Ellner PD. Bacteremia due to Bifidobacterium, Eubacterium or Lactobacillus; twenty-one cases and review of the literature. Yale J Biol Med 1978;51:505-12.
  3. Farina C, Arosio M, Mangia M, Moioli F. Lactobacillus casei subsp. rhamnosus sepsis in a patient with ulcerative colitis. J Clin Gastroenterol 2001;33:251-2.
  4. Gouriet F, Million M, Henri M, Fournier PE, Raoult D. Lactobacillus rhamnosus bacteremia: An emerging clinical entity. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2012;31:2469-80.
  5. Cannon JP, Lee TA, Bolanos JT, Danziger LH. Pathogenic relevance of Lactobacillus: A retrospective review of over 200 cases. Eur J Clin Microbiol Infect Dis 2005;24:31-40.
  6. Sanders ME, Akkermans LM, Haller D, Hammerman C, Heimbach J, Hörmannsperger G, et al. Safety assessment of probiotics for human use. Gut Microbes 2010;1:164-85.
  7. Crooks NH, Snaith C, Webster D, Gao F, Hawkey P. Clinical review: Probiotics in critical care. Crit Care 2012;16:237.
  8. Salminen MK, Rautelin H, Tynkkynen S, Poussa T, Saxelin M, Valtonen V, et al. Lactobacillus bacteremia, species identification, and antimicrobial susceptibility of 85 blood isolates. Clin Infect Dis 2006;42:e35-44.
  9. Könönen E. Anaerobic gram-positive nonsporulating bacilli. In: Mandell GL, Bennett JE, Dolin R, editors. Mandell, Douglas and Bennett′s Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7 th ed. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 2009. p. 3125-8.
PDF Share
PDF Share

© Jaypee Brothers Medical Publishers (P) LTD.