A case of pulmonary infection with Prevotella melanogenica having the paving stone symptom

Abstract

Prevotella melanogenica is a typical organism present in the human oral cavity and female reproductive tract, which is responsible for causing periodontal disease and the inflammation of the female reproductive tract. The present report discusses the case of a young female patient who presented with cough and fever as the main clinical symptoms. Computed Tomography (CT) revealed multiple clusters of ground glass density shadows in both lungs, with network-like and paving stone-like changes. The alveolar lavage fluid was collected for next-generation sequencing, which revealed the presence of Prevotella melanogenica. The patient received treatments, CT revealed that the density of multiple flakes of ground glass density in both lungs was lower than the previously observed density. Prevotella melanogenica pneumonia is rare, and the paving stone symptom observed in CT is not specific. Therefore, the case reported here provides a novel perspective regarding the diagnosis of pneumonia.