American Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2018, 6(12), 247-248
DOI: 10.12691/AJMCR-6-12-5
Pneumococcus a Rare Cause of Cellulitis
Muhammad U. Asghar1, , Krishna Kommineni2, Sanwal S. Mehta2 and Ravi Karan Patti2
1Pulmonary and Critical Care, Maimonides Medical Center, New York, USA
2Internal Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, New York, USA
Pub. Date: December 28, 2018
Cite this paper
Muhammad U. Asghar, Krishna Kommineni, Sanwal S. Mehta and Ravi Karan Patti. Pneumococcus a Rare Cause of Cellulitis.
American Journal of Medical Case Reports. 2018; 6(12):247-248. doi: 10.12691/AJMCR-6-12-5
Abstract
Streptococcus Pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) is a common cause of community-acquired pneumonia, although its manifestation as a skin infection is a rare phenomenon. Most skin infections are secondary to Staphylococcus aureus or Streptococcus pyogenes, however, cellulitis caused by pneumococci is an infrequent finding. Pneumococcal cellulitis most often occurs due to bacteremia in patients with chronic illnesses such as diabetes, underlying malignancies, immunosuppressed patients, and patients with the history of injection drug abuse. The nature of the infection can be very fatal leading to fasciitis, myonecrosis, septic shock and ultimately death. We present a case of a 61-year-old female who developed painful swelling and redness of the right face along with bilateral leg involvement. In the emergency room, physical examination revealed multiple cervical lymphadenopathies. Further diagnostic investigations disclosed Low-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma upon cervical lymph node biopsy. Blood culture grew Streptococcus pneumoniae as a source of cellulitis. This case demonstrates the importance of immune defects and the ensuing development of pneumococcal-induced cellulitis. Physicians should be vigilant while treating Pneumococcal cellulitis as this may be a sign of the serious underlying medical condition.
Keywords
Streptococcus pneumonia, cellulitis
Copyright
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