A case of severe empyema with acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by Slackia exigua requiring veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation.

ABSTRACT

Slackia exigua (S. exigua) is an obligatory anaerobic coccobacillus under the family of Coriobacteriaceae. It is a rare cause of pyogenic extraoral infections. We report a 58-year-old lady with good past health presented with fulminant community-acquired pneumonia causing acute respiratory distress syndrome caused by S. exigua requiring veno-venous extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO). Bacterial identification can be challenging and often require 16 S rRNA and MALDI-TOF MS. The patient was treated with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid according to sensitivity and made significant recovery.