Pyopneumothorax of unusual aetiology

Abstract

A 50-year old diabetic male presented with cough, breathlessness, fever, and chest pain. Clinical and radiological evaluation revealed a right-sided pyopneumothorax. Surgical drainage with tube thoracostomy was performed. Pleural fluid cultures grew Enterococcus fecium as a sole organism. Our patient was treated with vancomycin and amikacin with an excellent clinical response. Enterococci are rarely implicated in the lower respiratory tract and pleural infections and are not usually considered if initiating empirical treatment. Their intrinsic resistance to empirically used antibiotics may complicate the course of the disease. Hence initial Gram staining and expeditious microbiological isolation with susceptibility testing is warranted in all cases. Gram-positive aerobes, notably staphylococcus followed by streptococcus and pneumococcus, are the commonly encountered organisms in pleural infections.