Korean J Dermatol.  2012 Feb;50(2):156-158.

Acute Ecthyma Caused by Serratia marcescens in a Patient with Diabetes Mellitus

• Kim WJ
• Seo KY
• Lee HJ
• Kim DH
• Yoon MS

Abstract

Despite their existence all around, primary cutaneous infections caused by Serratia marcescens are still fairly rare. In many cases, symptoms caused by S. marcescens usually manifest as opportunistic infections in pulmonary, urinary and digestive organs of immunocompromised patients. It is unusual to find manifestations as "primary" cutaneous infection. A 56-year-old woman presented to our hospital with ulcerative skin lesions. She had a medical history of poorly controlled diabetes mellitus for 5 years. Multiple nodules and ulcerative lesions of various sizes were distributed on the abdomen, both buttocks and thighs. Two biopsy samples revealed deep dermal and subcutaneous suppurative inflammation. Two culture samples from the skin biopsy sites demonstrated S. marcescens. Small-to-medium sized lesions showed improvements with antibiotic treatment for 14 days. However, for large sized lesions, partial-thickness skin grafts were done.

Keyword

Acute ecthyma; Diabetes mellitus; Serratia marcescens

MeSH Terms

Abdomen
Biopsy
Buttocks
Diabetes Mellitus
Ecthyma
Female
Humans
Immunocompromised Host
Inflammation
Middle Aged
Opportunistic Infections
Serratia
Serratia marcescens
Skin
Thigh
Transplants
Ulcer