Abstract
We report a rare case of bacteremic enterococcal pneumonia in an 81-year-old man, with an indolent disease course. We reviewed the literature concerning lower respiratory tract infections associated with enterococci for the burden, the pathogenesis and the clinical characteristics of these unusual infections.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Moellering RCJr: Emergence of Enterococcus as a significant pathogen. Clin Infect Dis 1992; 14: 1173–1176.
Mandell LA, Bartlett JG, Dowell SF, File TMJr, Musher DM, Whitney C: Infectious Diseases Society of America Update of practice guidelines for the management of community-acquired pneumonia in immunocompetent adults. Clin Infect Dis 2003; 37:. Epub 2003 Nov 3.
Garrison RN, Fry DE, Berberich S, Polk HCJr: Enterococcal bacteremia: clinical implications and determinants of death. Ann Surg 1982; 196: 43–47.
Maki DG, Agger WA: Enterococcal bacteremia: clinical features, the risk of endocarditis, and management. Medicine (Baltimore) 1988; 67: 248–269.
Patterson JE, Sweeney AH, Simms M, Carley N, Mangi R, Sabetta J, Lyons RW: An analysis of 110 serious enterococcal infections. Epidemiology, antibiotic susceptibility, and outcome. Medicine (Baltimore) 1995; 74: 191–200.
Parvathi S, Appalaraju B: Isolation, characterisation and antibiogram of Enterococci from clinical samples. Indian J Pathol Microbiol 2003; 46: 501–503.
Feeley TW, Du Moulin GC, Hedley-Whyte J, Bushnell LS, Gilbert JP, Feingold DS: Aerosol polymyxin and pneumonia in seriously ill patients. N Engl J Med 1975; 293: 471–475.
Bonten MJ, Gaillard CA, van Tiel FH, van der Geest S, Stobberingh EE: Colonization and infection with Enterococcus faecalis in intensive care units: the role of antimicrobial agents. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 1995; 39: 2783–2786.
Torres A, Aznar R, Gatell JM, Jimenez P, Gonzalez J, Ferrer A, Celis R, Rodriguez-Roisin R: Incidence, risk, and prognosis factors of nosocomial pneumonia in mechanically ventilated patients. Am Rev Respir Dis 1990; 142: 523–528.
Torres A, Gatell JM, Aznar E, el-Ebiary M, de Puig la Bellacasa J, Gonzalez J, Ferrer M, Rodriguez-Roisin R: Re-intubation increases the risk of nosocomial pneumonia in patients needing mechanical ventilation. Am J Respir Crit Care Med 1995; 152: 137–141.
Delank HW: The disease picture in enterococcal pneumonia. Medizinische 1953; 21: 228–230 (in German).
Morris JF, Okies JE: Enterococcal lung abscess: medical and surgical therapy. Chest 1974; 65: 688–691.
Berk SL, Verghese A, Holtsclaw SA, Smith JK: Enterococcal pneumonia. Occurrence in patients receiving broad-spectrum antibiotic regimens and enteral feeding. Am J Med 1983; 74: 153–154.
Portero JL, Porcel JM, Ruiz A, Rubio-Caballero M: Community-acquired pneumonia caused by Enterococcus faecium. Med Clin (Barc) 1994; 102: 316–317 (in Spanish).
Molinos L, Gullon JA, Riesgo C, Dominguez MJ, Martinez J: Community acquired pneumonia due to Enterococcus. An entity for consideration? Enferm Infecc Microbiol Clin 1995; 13: 319 (in Spanish).
Morii K, Takechi T, Shimizu Y: A critical pneumonia by multidrug- resistant Enterococcus faecium in a chronic hemodialysis patient. A case report. Kansenshogaku Zasshi 2002; 76: 1035–1039 (in Japanese).
MacEachern P, Giannoccaro JP, Elsayed S, Read RR, Laupland KB: A rare case of pleuropulmonary infection and septic shock associated with Enterococcus faecium endocarditis. J Infect 2005; 50: 84–88.
Gold OG, Jordan HV, van Houte J: The prevalence of enterococci in the human mouth and their pathogenicity in animal models. Arch Oral Biol 1975; 20: 473–477.
Lund B, Agvald-Ohman C, Hultberg A, Edlund C: Frequent transmission of enterococcal strains between mechanically ventilated patients treated at an intensive care unit. J Clin Microbiol 2002; 40: 2084–2088.
Agvald-Ohman C, Wernerman J, Nord CE, Edlund C: Anaerobic bacteria commonly colonize the lower airways of intubated ICU patients. Clin Microbiol Infect 2003; 9: 397–405.
Mundy LM, Sahm DF, Gilmore M: Relationships between enterococcal virulence and antimicrobial resistance. Clin Microbiol Rev 2000; 13: 513–522.
Shorrock PJ, Lambert PA: Binding of fibronectin and albumin to Enterococcus (Streptococcus) faecalis. Microb Pathog 1989; 6: 61–67.
Abkarovich GF, Akimchenkov NA: Enterococcal experimental pneumonia in albino rats. Zh Mikrobiol Epidemiol Immunobiol 1971; 48: 137–139 (in Russian).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Grupper, M., Kravtsov, A. & Potasman, I. Enterococcal-associated Lower Respiratory Tract Infections: A Case Report and Literature Review. Infection 37, 60–64 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-007-7123-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-007-7123-7