Hiding Behind Confusion: Pleural Empyema Caused by Parvimonas micra

Lung abscess by Actinomyces odontolyticus and Parvimonas micra co-infection presenting as acute respiratory failure

“…[2,3] P micra is also a facultative, anaerobic, gram-positive bacterium. [4] These 2 species are often found in the human oropharynx. [3,4] Pulmonary infection by A odontolyticus or P micra result from the aspiration of these species into the lungs.…”

“…[4] These 2 species are often found in the human oropharynx. [3,4] Pulmonary infection by A odontolyticus or P micra result from the aspiration of these species into the lungs. In this article, we reported a case of lung abscess and respiratory failure in an immune-competent patient caused by these 2 organisms.…”

“…This organism usually causes periradicular diseases and periodontitis, with other microorganisms. [4] Poetter et al reported a case of pleural empyema in which P micra was cultured from the pleural pus. [4] In our case, A odontolyticus was identified by the pleural fluid culture and P micra was identified by the blood culture.…”

“…Only a few cases of such pulmonary infections have been identified in pure culture. [4] In this article, we report a case of lung abscess due to a mixed infection with Actinomyces odontolyticus and P micra , which initially presented with acute respiratory failure. Patient has provided informed consent for publication of the case.…”

Parvimonas micra bacteremia following endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: A new route of infection

“…Parvimonas micra, previously known as Peptostreptococcus micros or Micromonas micros [4], is a non-spore forming, strictly anaerobic, slow-growing, occurring in pairs and short chains, Gram-positive coccus, belonging to commensal flora of oral cavity, gastrointestinal and genital tracts. It was deemed to cause bacteremia [5,6], endocarditis [7], pleural effusion [8], septic pulmonary embolism [9], bone [10][11][12][13] and cerebral infections, mainly in patients which have undergone dental medical procedures (DMP) [11,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19] or with suboptimal oral hygiene [20][21][22][23]. Few data about clinical features and management of P. micra infections after medical procedures, above all in cases of infections after non-dental medical procedures (NDMP), are reported in literature [8,19,22,[24][25][26][27][28] In our case, patient showed no dental alterations nor periodontal disease and P. micra probably translocated into the bloodstream due to an imperceptible mucosal injury during endoscopy.…”