John Goodsir: discovering Sarcina ventriculi and diagnosing Darwin's dyspepsia.

In 1842, when John Goodsir was Conservator to the Museum of the RCSEd, he saw a 19-year-old male patient who vomited a large volume of acidic, fermented-smelling, watery fluid every morning. Under his microscope, Goodsir found the vomitus to be populated with a micro-organism he named Sarcina ventriculi, which he considered to be causative. In so-doing, Goodsir became one of the first people to link a specific micro-organism with a disease. Goodsir recommended small doses of creosote as an antiseptic and claimed that the boy was eventually cured of the vomiting condition. In August of 1863 Charles Darwin was hugely celebrated by the scientific community and the public, but he had suffered from severe stomach problems all his adult life and at this point, he was vomiting daily. He read Goodsir's paper and contacted him and asked if he could send some vomitus samples to Edinburgh in the hope that Goodsir might find Sarcina in it and solve the mystery of his debilitating stomach symptoms and perhaps cure them with creosote. Goodsir examined samples in his microscope, but failed to find Sarcina. Sadly, Darwin went on to suffer constantly from severe stomach problems, recently attributed to lactose intolerance, until he died in 1882, some 20 years later.

Sarcina Organisms in the Upper Gastrointestinal Tract: A Report of 3 Cases With Varying Presentations.

Sarcina species are anaerobic gram-positive cocci rarely seen in the upper gastrointestinal tract and associated with delayed gastric emptying. We present 3 cases of Sarcina infection with varying clinical presentations including the first reported case of Sarcina in a patient with eosinophilic esophagitis. Although the pathogenesis of Sarcina is unclear, awareness of the bacteria is important as they can usually only be detected on histopathologic examination of upper gastrointestinal biopsies. Treatment in symptomatic patients may prevent severe complications such as emphysematous gastritis and gastric perforation.

Gastric Dilatation Associated with Gastric Colonization with Sarcina-Like Bacteria in a Cat with Chronic Enteritis.

An 11 yr old spayed female domestic longhair cat was presented for an acute onset of vomiting. Abdominal radiographs and ultrasound revealed severe gastric dilatation (GD) without evidence of gastric outflow obstruction. On esophagogastroduodenoscopy, the duodenal mucosa was mildly erythematous, and a moderate, diffuse, chronic enteritis was found by histological examination of duodenal biopsies. Large numbers of Sarcina-like bacteria without associated inflammation were present in gastric mucosal biopsies. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of GD associated with colonization by Sarcina-like bacteria in a cat. Gastric colonization by Sarcina-like bacteria should be suspected when cats are presented with acute onset of GD and vomiting.

Sarcina ventriculi : Review of the Literature.

Sarcina ventriculi is an increasingly common gram-positive coccus, recognized in gastric biopsies, particularly of patients with delayed gastric emptying. It occurs most commonly in adult women and can be identified easily by its characteristic morphologic features, such as basophilic staining, cuboid shape, tetrad arrangement, red blood cell-sized packets, flattened cell walls, and refractile nature on light microscopy. Although the pathogenesis of the organism is debated, it has been implicated in cases of gastric perforation, emphysematous gastritis, and peritonitis as well as occurring in the background of gastric adenocarcinomas. This review of the literature discusses the clinical features, endoscopy findings, histopathology, ancillary studies, microbiology, pathogenesis, differential diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of this bacterium based on 19 published cases.

Pathogenic Sarcina in urine.

Sarcina is a Gram-positive anaerobic coccus that has been consistently reported in the upper gastrointestinal tract biopsies of patients with evidence of gastric stasis. The pathogenic role of Sarcina in humans is not entirely known. We describe an infant who was surgically treated for posterior urethral valve and the urine showed pathogenic Sarcina.

The significance of Sarcina in routine surgical pathology practice.

Sarcina was first described by Goodsir. The appearance of this bacterium is so characteristic that the diagnosis can be made on light microscopy. Although the original description of Sarcina was made more than 150 years ago, little is known about its role in various human diseases. This study was undertaken with the aim to analyze critically the reason for this sudden recent interest in human Sarcina infection. The results indicate that Sarcina is a histopathological marker of functional or anatomical causes of gastric stasis, and has a possible association with life-threatening emphysematous gastritis. Hence, its documentation in the final report is warranted as the patient might need further work-up.

Sarcina, a new threat in the bariatric era.

First identified in humans by Goodsir in 1842, Sarcina were already known to cause fatal abomasal bloat in animals. Their pathogenicity in humans has only recently been characterized. Sarcina is not inherently pathogenic but, with a gastric ulcer and delayed gastric emptying, can result in perforation. We present a case report of a 32-year-old woman status post-gastric banding presenting with epigastric pain. Upper endoscopy revealed a gastric ulcer near the band. After deflation, upper gastrointestinal series showed passage of contrast and no perforation. Ulcer biopsy showed gastric contents composed of Sarcina. Proton pump inhibitors and antibiotics were administered. Follow-up endoscopy at an outside institution resulted in perforation. This case report supports a growing body of literature that Sarcina organisms contribute to ulcers and perforation. This is the first report of Sarcina in elective bariatric surgery patients, highlighting the high suspicion needed among pathologists evaluating ulcers in this unique surgical population.

Pulmonary Gangrene Due to Rhizopus spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Probable Sarcina Organisms.

Pulmonary gangrene is a life-threatening condition, which represents the fulminant end of the infectious lung diseases usually caused by polymicrobial infection. Aerobic and anaerobic bacteria act synergistically to produce massive tissue necrosis which might be augmented by the angioinvasive nature of fungi like Mucor. We report a successfully treated case of pulmonary gangrene in a poorly controlled diabetic patient, which was associated with polymicrobial infection. It was caused by Rhizopus spp., Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae and unusual anaerobic organism Sarcina. This is the first report describing the presence of Sarcina organisms in a case of pulmonary gangrene. Adequate glycemic control, treatment of coexisting polymicrobial infection and prompt antifungal therapy along with surgical intervention were useful in the index patient. This case also highlights the effectiveness of combined medical and surgical intervention in a case of pulmonary gangrene.