Ann Clin Microbiol.  2014 Mar;17(1):20-22. 10.5145/ACM.2014.17.1.20.

Shigella boydii Bacteremia in an Ederly Patient with No Underlying Disease

• Woo KS
• Choi JL
• Kim BR
• Kim JE
• Kim KH
• Kim JM
• Han JY

• KMID: 1518100
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5145/ACM.2014.17.1.20

Abstract

Shigella bacteremia is rare, occurring mainly in children. Shigella species often cause diarrhea or gastrointestinal inflammation in humans and are rarely associated with bacteremia. This report describes an unusual case of Shigella boydii bacteremia in an 84-year-old patient visiting our hospital after experiencing nausea, vomiting, and febrile sensation for 2 days. Peripheral blood cultures revealed S. boydii and 16S rDNA sequence analysis produced the same result. However, the organism was not isolated from the patient's stool. She was started on ciprofloxacin, to which this organism is sensitive, and was subsequently discharged with instructions to complete a 14-day course of ciprofloxacin. Shigellosis is usually a self-limiting enteric disease. However, in contrast to its isolation from both blood and stool, isolation of the organism from blood only is associated with a high mortality rate. As is frequently pointed out, blood cultures should be obtained from elderly or immunocompromised patients with acute febrile gastroenteritis to detect infection caused by enteric pathogens, including Shigella.

Keyword

Bacteremia; Blood cultures; Shigella boydii

MeSH Terms

Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Bacteremia*
Child
Ciprofloxacin
Diarrhea
DNA, Ribosomal
Dysentery, Bacillary
Gastroenteritis
Humans
Immunocompromised Host
Inflammation
Mortality
Nausea
Sensation
Sequence Analysis
Shigella boydii*
Shigella*
Vomiting
Ciprofloxacin
DNA, Ribosomal

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