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CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 · J Lab Physicians 2022; 14(03): 343-347
DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1744236
Case Report

Granulicatella adiacens as an Unusual Cause of Empyema: A Case Report and Review of Literature

Geetarani Purohit 
1   Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, India
2   Department of Microbiology and Infection Control, Vikash Multispeciality Hospital, Bargarh, Odisha, India
,
Baijayantimala Mishra
1   Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, India
,
Satyajeet Sahoo
3   Department of Pulmonary Medicine, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, India
,
Ashoka Mahapatra 
1   Department of Microbiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, India
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Abstract

Granulicatella adiacens, a nutritionally variant Streptococcus (NVS), is part of the normal commensal flora of human mouth, genital, and intestinal tracts and rarely causes disease. It has been mostly reported from bacteremia and endocarditis cases, but rarely can cause vertebral osteomyelitis, pancreatic abscess, otitis media, and endovascular, central nervous system, ocular, oral, bone and joint, and genitourinary infections. Due to requirement of fastidious culture conditions and non-specific colony morphology, serious diagnostic difficulties may arise in cases of NVS infections. Here, we are reporting a rare fatal infection of G. adiacens presented with empyema complicated to sepsis and necrotizing fasciitis.

Clinicians should be aware of the pathogenic potential of Granulicatella adiacens (a normal commensal flora of human mouth, genital and intestinal tracts). Appropriate supplemented media and a reliable detection system should be used to identify these fastidious organisms. We present this rare case to bring awareness among clinicians regarding such a rare but potentially fatal infection.

Keywords

empyema - Granulicatella adiacens - nutritionally variant Streptococcus - sepsis


Publication History

Article published online:
13 April 2022

© 2022. The Indian Association of Laboratory Physicians. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonDerivative-NonCommercial License, permitting copying and reproduction so long as the original work is given appropriate credit. Contents may not be used for commercial purposes, or adapted, remixed, transformed or built upon. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

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