Parvimonas micra is a type of Gram-positive anaerobic cocci widely distributed in the oral cavity, gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract, and female reproductive system mucosa. It is a conditional pathogen that can cause infections in the human oral cavity, wounds, and other areas as well as sepsis. In this case report, the patient's immune system was compromised by various underlying diseases and a pulmonary infection, which led to the entry of P. micra infection into the bloodstream. P. micra is a slow-growing organism (When a bloodstream infection occurs, flagging an anaerobic bottle of blood culture as positive will usually take >48 h), which makes it hard to secure timely blood culture results. Our patient's poor physical condition eventually led to sepsis, and she died after 5 days in the hospital.
Rhodococcus equi is a conditionally pathogenic bacterium widely distributed in soil, water, and marine environments, which can cause respiratory infections, pleurisy, blood and even bone marrow infections in immunocompromised people, and particularly in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). This case report describes a patient with initially suspicion of tuberculosis (TB) as an outpatient in a TB clinic. However, laboratory findings identified R. equi in his sputum sample based on a positive acid-fast stain, which was highly suggestive of a pulmonary infection caused by R. equi. The patient was subsequently admitted to the respiratory unit for treatment. Once the source of infection was identified, the patient was treated with a combination of antibiotics for 2 weeks and was discharged with a significant improvement in symptoms.
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