Intracellular but not undetectable: A case of Francisella tularensis pericarditis

Francisella tularensis is a facultatively intracellular, gram-negative bacillus and a rare cause of infection in the United States. We report a case of a 45-year-old male who presented with ongoing fever, shortness of breath, and was found to have a pericardial effusion and pulmonic infiltrates due...

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Main Authors: Nicholas P. Bergeron, Cameron G. Gmehlin, Haris Akhtar, Kemar O. Barrett, Sara S. Inglis, Lawrence J. Sinak, Charanjit S. Rihal, Daniel C. DeSimone
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:IDCases
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221425092400221X
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author Nicholas P. Bergeron
Cameron G. Gmehlin
Haris Akhtar
Kemar O. Barrett
Sara S. Inglis
Lawrence J. Sinak
Charanjit S. Rihal
Daniel C. DeSimone
author_facet Nicholas P. Bergeron
Cameron G. Gmehlin
Haris Akhtar
Kemar O. Barrett
Sara S. Inglis
Lawrence J. Sinak
Charanjit S. Rihal
Daniel C. DeSimone
author_sort Nicholas P. Bergeron
collection DOAJ
description Francisella tularensis is a facultatively intracellular, gram-negative bacillus and a rare cause of infection in the United States. We report a case of a 45-year-old male who presented with ongoing fever, shortness of breath, and was found to have a pericardial effusion and pulmonic infiltrates due to F. tularensis. Though tularemia is classically associated with rabbits and rodents, we note the patient in our case had no clear infectious exposure. Tularemia pericarditis is extremely rare, and this will be only the second report since 1957. We highlight the possible benefits of microbial cell-free DNA next generation sequencing when infection is suspected without obvious cause to reduce the morbidity and mortality from underlying infection.
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spelling doaj-art-60db8aaae5034ac4bc951798b17b19152025-08-20T02:57:32ZengElsevierIDCases2214-25092025-01-0139e0214510.1016/j.idcr.2024.e02145Intracellular but not undetectable: A case of Francisella tularensis pericarditisNicholas P. Bergeron0Cameron G. Gmehlin1Haris Akhtar2Kemar O. Barrett3Sara S. Inglis4Lawrence J. Sinak5Charanjit S. Rihal6Daniel C. DeSimone7Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; Corresponding author.Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USADivision of Public Health, Infectious Disease, and Occupational Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USADivision of Public Health, Infectious Disease, and Occupational Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USADepartment of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USADepartment of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USADepartment of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USADivision of Public Health, Infectious Disease, and Occupational Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; Department of Cardiovascular Diseases, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USAFrancisella tularensis is a facultatively intracellular, gram-negative bacillus and a rare cause of infection in the United States. We report a case of a 45-year-old male who presented with ongoing fever, shortness of breath, and was found to have a pericardial effusion and pulmonic infiltrates due to F. tularensis. Though tularemia is classically associated with rabbits and rodents, we note the patient in our case had no clear infectious exposure. Tularemia pericarditis is extremely rare, and this will be only the second report since 1957. We highlight the possible benefits of microbial cell-free DNA next generation sequencing when infection is suspected without obvious cause to reduce the morbidity and mortality from underlying infection.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221425092400221XPericarditisFrancisella tularensisZoonotic diseasesMicrobial cell free DNA
spellingShingle Nicholas P. Bergeron
Cameron G. Gmehlin
Haris Akhtar
Kemar O. Barrett
Sara S. Inglis
Lawrence J. Sinak
Charanjit S. Rihal
Daniel C. DeSimone
Intracellular but not undetectable: A case of Francisella tularensis pericarditis
IDCases
Pericarditis
Francisella tularensis
Zoonotic diseases
Microbial cell free DNA
title Intracellular but not undetectable: A case of Francisella tularensis pericarditis
title_full Intracellular but not undetectable: A case of Francisella tularensis pericarditis
title_fullStr Intracellular but not undetectable: A case of Francisella tularensis pericarditis
title_full_unstemmed Intracellular but not undetectable: A case of Francisella tularensis pericarditis
title_short Intracellular but not undetectable: A case of Francisella tularensis pericarditis
title_sort intracellular but not undetectable a case of francisella tularensis pericarditis
topic Pericarditis
Francisella tularensis
Zoonotic diseases
Microbial cell free DNA
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221425092400221X
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