Acute Bacterial Meningitis and Systemic Abscesses due toStreptococcus dysgalactiaesubsp.equisimilisInfection

Abstract

Disseminated abscesses due to group Gβ-hemolyticStreptococcus dysgalactiaewere observed in a 57-year-old cirrhotic patient with the skin being the putative way of entry for the pathogen.S. dysgalactiaeis a rare agent in human infections responsible for acute pyogenic meningitis. The mortality rate associated withS. dysgalactiaebacteraemia and meningitis may be as high as 50%, particularly in the presence of endocarditis or brain abscesses. In our patient, main sites of infections were meningitis and ventriculitis, spondylodiscitis, septic arthritis, and soft-tissue infections. In contrast, no endocarditis was evidenced. Cirrhosis-related immune suppression was considered as a pathophysiological cofactor for the condition. Fortunately, clinical status improved after long-term (3 months) antimicrobial therapy.