A case of cellulitis complicating Campylobacter jejuni subspecies jejuni bacteremia and review of the literature

Abstract

Infection with Campylobacter species is a predominant cause of food-borne gastroenteritis in the industrialized world. Bacteremia is detected in <1% of patients with diarrhea, mainly in immunocompromised hosts or those in the extremes of age. Reported here is the case of a 78-year-old, immunocompromised male patient with Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni bacteremia complicated by cellulitis. The infection was characterized by a protracted course with several recurrences and refractoriness to multiple antibiotic regimens, responding only to a prolonged course of meropenem treatment. The frequency of cellulitis as reflected in previously reported series of Campylobacter bacteremia and the clinical characteristics of this difficult-to-treat infection are reviewed.

Antimicrobial Susceptibilities of Multidrug-Resistant Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli Strains: In Vitro Activities of 20 Antimicrobial Agents

“…Thus, the most appropriate protocols for antimicrobial treatment for bacteremic infections, whether caused by susceptible or resistant strains, have not been established. Successful outcomes have been reported previously, especially with the carbapenems (4,15,16,18). In previous studies, this antimicrobial group has also shown excellent in vitro activities against Campylobacter spp.…”

“…Since extraintestinal manifestations are uncommon in campylobacteriosis, data on their antimicrobial therapy are based only on anecdotal case reports (4,18,21) and small retrospective case series (15,16). Thus, the most appropriate protocols for antimicrobial treatment for bacteremic infections, whether caused by susceptible or resistant strains, have not been established.…”

“…has been analyzed in one previous study (22), in which it exhibited the lowest MICs against resistant Campylobacter strains. Clinically, the drug has shown excellent activity, e.g., for the treatment of complicated skin and soft tissue infections (6), which is known to be one manifestation of extraintestinal campylobacteriosis (15,18). Tigecycline circulates primarily as unchanged drug, and its major route of elimination is through the feces, likely via biliary excretion (2,19).…”

Campylobacterbacteremia: A rare and under-reported event?

“…Such complications have also been reported in patients hospitalized with Campylobacter-related bacteremia and underlying health problems such as Campylobacterrelated meningitis [80,81], hepatitis [82], arthritis [83], abdominal septic aortic pseudoaneurysm [84], peritonitis [85,86], acute pancreatitis [87,88], cellulitis [89,90], pericarditis [91], endocarditis [92] and hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) [93]. Again, these reports indicate that Campylobacter is able to efficiently travel through the blood stream in gastroenteritis patients, specifically to tissues or organs that can only be reached via the circulating blood stream.…”

Bacteremia caused by Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni in a patient with liver cirrhosis: A case report

“…5 Pacanowski ve arkadaşları, 2 5 yıllık süre zarfında 23 hastanenin katılımıyla yaptıkları çalış-mada, Campylobacter bakteriyemisi olan 178 hastanın 94'ünde (%53) C.fetus izole etmişler ve çoğu hastanın erkek ve yaşlı olduklarını bildirmektedirler. Aynı çalışmada hastaların %39'unda karaciğer hastalığı, %38'inde kanser olduğunu öte yandan…”