Vol.21 No.6

Case Report

Leuconostoc bacteremia in a patient with amyloidosis secondary to rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis arthritis

Authors

JeongHwan Shin1 , Minyoung Her2 , Chisook Moon3 , Dongyook Kim2 , SangHeon Lee4 , SooJin Jung5

  • Department of Laboratory Medicine and Paik Institute for Clinical Research, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, South Korea
  • Division of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, Inje University, Gaegum-Dong, Busanjin-Gu, Busan, 614-735, South Korea
  • Division of Infection, Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, Inje University, Busan, South Korea
  • Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan Paik Hospital, Inje University, Busan, South Korea
  • Department of Pathology, Pusan Paik Hospital, Inje University, Busan, South Korea
Received:

18 November 2010

Accepted:

22 April 2011

Published online:

20 May 2011

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Abstract

Leuconostoc infections are rare and usually occur in immunocompromised patients. This report describes a case of Leuconostoc lactis bacteremia in a patient with coexisting rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis arthritis. A disrupted gastrointestinal barrier due to gastrointestinal amyloidosis in long-standing rheumatoid arthritis and tuberculosis arthritis could be a risk factor for Leuconostoc bacteremia. Despite aggressive antibiotic treatment, the patient progressed to septic shock and multiorgan failure. The fatal course might have been caused by rapid progression of gastrointestinal pathology, which could be a risk factor for Leuconostoc bacteremia.

Key words

Leuconostoc lactis - Amyloidosis - Rheumatoid arthritis - Tuberculosis