Fusobacterial liver abscess: a case report and review of the literature

Abstract

BackgroundFusobacteriae are facultative anaerobic gram-negative bacilli which cause a range of invasive infections, amongst which pyogenic liver abscesses are rare. We describe a case of Fusobacterium nucleatum liver abscess and review the relevant literature.Case presentationA 51-year-old lady presented with a 4-day history of abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fever, rigors, and lethargy. Imaging revealed an abscess which was drained. Cultures of the blood and abscess aspirate grew Fusobacterium nucleatum and Prevotella pleuritidis respectively. She achieved full recovery following treatment.A MEDLINE search was undertaken using free-text and Medical Subject Headings (MeSH), keywords “Fusobacterium” and “Liver abscess”. Non-English language reports and cases without confirmed growth of Fusobacterium species were excluded. Additional cases were identified by surveying the references of each report and by using the same keywords in a web-based search.Forty-eight cases were identified, 41 in men. The median age was 42.5, with an interquartile range of 33. F. nucleatum and F. necrophorum were in involved in 22 cases each, and 4 cases were not further speciated. Among cases of F. nucleatum liver abscess, nine were attributed to periodontal disease, four to lower gastrointestinal tract disease, one to Lemierre’s Syndrome, and eight were considered cryptogenic. All patients treated made a full recovery. Antimicrobial treatment duration ranged from 2 weeks to 6 months with a median of 6 weeks.ConclusionFusobacterium nucleatum is an uncommon cause of liver abscess generally associated with good clinical outcomes with contemporary medical and surgical care.

Fusobacterium nucleatumcausing a pyogenic liver abscess: a rare complication of periodontal disease that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…We used the search terms, ‘ Fusobacterium nucleatum ’ and ‘“pyogenic liver abscess’ ( table 2 ). 2–4 7 9–24 There were 20 cases of PLA where F. nucleatum was implicated as the causative pathogen in the English literature.…”

Multiloculated Liver Abscess Caused by Fusobacterium: Role of Karius Testing in Diagnosis

“…Most of these cases occur in young or middle-aged individuals who are immunocompetent. They have no risk factors for liver disease including malignancy, end-stage renal disease or old age [4].…”

Liver Abscess Secondary to Fusobacterium nucleatum Infection in 15-year-old Male

“…The association between Fusobacterium nucleatum and chorioamnionitis with preterm labor was found [18]. Even though, the incidence of Fusobacterium bacteremia is low (0.55 per 100.000 population per annum) [19], mortality remains significant in developing countries: 47.4 % in Taiwan [20], 4% in Finland [21][22][23][24][25][26] and 1% in New Zealand [17].…”