An unusual presentation of Pseudomonas citronellolis bacteraemia and Campylobacter gastroenteritis infection in a human - a case report and literature review.

Introduction: Pseudomonas citronellolis is an unusual pathogen in humans and has not been extensively described in the scientific literature. Herein, we present a case of bacteremia and septic shock due to Pseudomonas citronellolis following Campylobacter species gastroenteritis in a patient with immunosuppression. Case Presentation: An 80-year-old man with myeloproliferative disorder on ruxolitinib presented with several days of worsening abdominal pain, which rapidly developed into septic shock with multi-organ failure and explosive diarrhea. Gram-negative bacilli observed on Gram staining of his blood culture broth were later identified as Pseudomonas citronellolis and Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron . Repeated abdominal imaging revealed no evidence of intestinal perforation or megacolon. In addition, stool PCR was positive for Campylobacter species. His clinical course improved after 14 days of meropenem with complete resolution of his symptoms and organ failure. Conclusion: P. citronellolis is a rare infection in humans. We postulate that Janus Associated Kinase (JAK) inhibition in myeloproliferative disorders heightened this patient's risk of bacterial translocation and severe illness in the setting of Campylobacter gastroenteritis. P. citronellolis may be identified more frequently as a pathogen in humans as more advanced diagnostic technologies become increasingly available in clinical microbiology.

Congenital Coccidioidomycosis: A Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Coccidioidomycosis in neonates is rare and the acquisition of disease in this age group is not well understood. Congenital coccidioidomycosis is very rare, usually associated with coccidioidal placentitis. Only a handful of cases of congenital coccidioidomycosis have been described in the literature. We describe an infant with congenital coccidioidomycosis delivered by cesarean section to a mother who was diagnosed with disseminated disease in the second trimester and summarize the available literature on congenital coccidioidomycosis.

Miliary pattern pulmonary infiltrates in a diabetic patient: Coccidioidomycosis.

This is a case of miliary coccidioidomycosis. This case illustrates the importance of early suspicion for coccidioidomycosis in patients from an endemic area. Early identification and recognition of the disease are important to attain early therapy and disease control.

A budding case of infectious endocarditis: Candida lusitaniae.

This is a case of recurrent Candida lusitaniae prosthetic valve endocarditis with budding yeast and pseudohyphae on the histopathology. This case illustrates the importance of keeping vigilant in recognizing some of the emerging drug resistant Candida species in our practice.

GDH and toxin immunoassay for the diagnosis of Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection is not a 'one size fit all' screening test.

Diagnosing Clostridioides (Clostridium) difficile infection is challenged by lack of a clear gold standard. We sought to determine if the two-step algorithm (screening GDH and toxin lateral flow assay followed by tcdB PCR) would have adequate clinical performance at a tertiary care center. Of 486 patients, 310 (63.8%) were immunocompromised. Of 150 PCR-positive specimens, 52 (34.7%) were toxin-positive and 126 (84.0%) were GDH positive. Positive GDH or toxin results corresponded to lower PCR cycle threshold values (P < 0.01). PCR-positive patients had more frequently documented antibiotic usage (78.4% vs 66.9%, P = 0.05) and diarrhea (91.0% vs. 79.4%, P < 0.01) and less frequent alternate etiologies of diarrhea (27.3% vs. 41.1%, P = 0.004) or laxative use (24.6% vs 36.1%, P = 0.02). Toxin positivity was associated with antibiotic use (P < 0.01), but not with neutropenia, diarrhea, malignancy, or chemotherapy (P > 0.05). The application of the 2-step algorithm should be thoroughly evaluated in immunocompromised patient populations before implementation.

Lower extremity mycotic aneurysm in a patient with Listeria monocytogenes - associated prosthetic valve endocarditis.

Introduction.Listeria monocytogenes is a rare etiology of infectious endocarditis with only 30 cases of prosthetic valve and about twice as many native valve infections described in the literature. We describe an unusual presentation of an endovascular embolic phenomenon with associated lower extremity mycotic aneurysm due to Listeria monocytogenes prosthetic aortic valve and aortic endograft infection. Case presentation. This is a case of an elderly gentleman with prior history of bioprosthetic aortic valve placement and aortic arch repair who was admitted with several weeks of constitutional symptoms and left lower leg pain. Diagnostic work-up was consistent with thrombosed popliteal artery aneurysm. Blood cultures were positive for Listeria monocytogenes. A transesophageal echocardiogram revealed vegetation on the bioprosthetic valve. The patient underwent arterial bypass and ligation of the aneurysm as well as redoing of his aortic valve and aortic graft replacement. Histopathology of the aortic valve was remarkable for acute inflammation and Gram-positive coccobacilli and bacilli occupying intracellular spaces. The results of broad-range bacterial 16S rRNA PCR and sequence analysis of unfixed aortic valve tissue confirmed detection of L. monocytogenes. Conclusion. Infective endocarditis attributable to species of the genus Listeriais a rare entity. As such, there are no specific guidelines for treatment of Listeria monocytogenesendocarditis. However, combination of penicillin or ampicillin with gentamicin is the most acceptable approach described in the literature. Our patient was treated with ampicillin and gentamicin for 6 weeks followed by life-long amoxicillin suppression therapy. The patient remained asymptomatic at a 6 months follow up visit.

A case of liver abscess and fusobacterium septicemia.

Fusobacterium species are well described as the causative pathogen in Lemierre's syndrome, a suppurative thrombophlebitis of the jugular vein. However, they are less recognized for a unique variant of Lemierre's syndrome presenting with invasive intraabdominal infection and associated portal vein thrombosis. We describe a case of Fusobacterium nucleatum with hepatic abscess and septic pylephlebitis.

Facklamia Species as an Underrecognized Pathogen.

Facklamia species are a rarely reported etiology of clinical infection with few cases described in literature. However, the prevalence of infection may be underestimated due to challenges in species identification. We describe 3 cases of Facklamia species bacteremia and the unique microbiologic aspects inherent to this genus that make it particularly challenging to identify. In addition, given the unique susceptibility profile of Facklamia species, we discuss the importance of fully identifying this organism when it is a suspected as a pathogen, to optimize therapy based on its distinct antibiotic resistance profile.