Yonsei Med J.  2007 Jun;48(3):433-439. 10.3349/ymj.2007.48.3.433.

Sepsis and Meningitis due to Listeria Monocytogenes

• Yildiz O
• Aygen B
• Esel D
• Kayabas U
• Alp E
• Sumerkan B
• Doganay M

• KMID: 724098
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2007.48.3.433

Abstract

PURPOSE
This study focused on the effect of immuno-compromising conditions on the clinical presentation of severe listerial infection. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Nine human listeriosis cases seen from 1991-2002 were reviewed. All adult patients, from whose blood, peritoneal fluid or cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) the L. monocytogenes was isolated, were included in this retrospective study. RESULTS: Listeriosis presented as primary sepsis with positive blood cultures in 5 cases and meningitis with positive CSF cultures in 4 cases. All of these patients had at least one underlying disease, most commonly, hematologic malignancy, diabetes mellitus, amyloidosis and hepatic cirrhosis; 55.6% had received immunosuppressive or corticosteroid therapy within a week before the onset of listeriosis. The patients were adults with a mean age of 60 years. Fever, night sweats, chills and lethargy were the most common symptoms; high temperature (> 38 degrees C), tachycardia, meningeal signs and poor conditions in general were the most common findings on admission. The mortality rate was 33.3% and was strictly associated with the severity of the underlying disease. Mortality differences were significant between sepsis (20%) and meningitis (50%) patients. CONCLUSION: Listeriosis as an uncommon infection in our region and that immuno- suppressive therapy is an important pre-disposing factor of listeriosis. Sepsis and meningitis were more common in this group of patients and had the highest case-fatality rate for food-borne illnesses.

Keyword

Listeria monocytogenes; sepsis; meningitis; listeriosis; immunosuppressive

MeSH Terms

Adrenal Cortex Hormones/therapeutic use
Adult
Aged
Ascitic Fluid/microbiology
Female
Humans
Immunosuppressive Agents/*therapeutic use
Listeria Infections/blood/cerebrospinal fluid/*drug therapy
Listeria monocytogenes/*drug effects/growth & development/isolation & purification
Male
Meningitis, Bacterial/blood/cerebrospinal fluid/*drug therapy
Middle Aged
Retrospective Studies
Sepsis/blood/cerebrospinal fluid/*drug therapy
Treatment Outcome

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