Chromobacterium violaceum: The Deadly Sepsis

Chromobacterium violaceum is a Gram-negative facultatively anaerobic, oxidase-positive bacterium producing a dark violet antioxidant pigment called violacein. It is an opportunistic pathogen and has an ubiquitous distribution, mainly resides in water and soil of tropical and subtropical regions. An-...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Guntur Darmawan, R.N. Yasmin Kusumawardhani, Bachti Alisjahbana, Trinugroho Heri Fadjari
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Interna Publishing 2018-04-01
Series:Acta Medica Indonesiana
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.actamedindones.org/index.php/ijim/article/view/584
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1850061424310616064
author Guntur Darmawan
R.N. Yasmin Kusumawardhani
Bachti Alisjahbana
Trinugroho Heri Fadjari
author_facet Guntur Darmawan
R.N. Yasmin Kusumawardhani
Bachti Alisjahbana
Trinugroho Heri Fadjari
author_sort Guntur Darmawan
collection DOAJ
description Chromobacterium violaceum is a Gram-negative facultatively anaerobic, oxidase-positive bacterium producing a dark violet antioxidant pigment called violacein. It is an opportunistic pathogen and has an ubiquitous distribution, mainly resides in water and soil of tropical and subtropical regions. An-18-year-old man referred to the emergency room with a 5-day history of progressively worsening swelling of the right cheek. He sought consult and hospitalized at another institution for three days prior this admission; however, his condition deteriorated. He had a history of having abscesses several time. Four month before this visit, he was also admitted in our hospital due to an abscess in the right thigh. Pus and blood culture were positive for Staphylococcus haemolyticus, with a total serum IgE of 2493.0 IU/ml. He recovered completely after being treated with vancomycin in this event. He had neither diabetes mellitus nor human immunodeficiency virus infection history. In this presentation, he was in a critically ill state with septic shock. Physical examination revealed diffuse, indurated, partly fluctuant, and some deep purple area of right hemifacial swelling. It was extended anteriorly from angle of mouth to retroauricular, superiorly from superior palpebra to lower border of mandible. Laboratory studies were notable for a white-cell count of 12,970/mm3 (total lymphocyte count 778.2), platelet count 96,000/mm3. The patient got norepinephrine drip and broad-spectrum antibiotic intravenously. He also underwent superficial drainage of the abscess. Unfortunately, the patient eventually succumbed. Sample from right submandibular abscess showed no growth, but blood sample was confirmed to grow C. violaceum. It showed sensitivity to ciprofloxacin, amikacin, cotrimoxazole, chloramphenicol, tetracycline. Since it was firstly described in 1927, only a few cases of human infection with C. violaceum have been reported. As shown in our case, the classical clinical manifestation was localized soft tissue infection which rapidly progressed to fulminant sepsis with a high mortality rate. A defect in host defense system might be the predisposing factor for this kind of infection in our case. As this is such a rare infection, there is no guideline on the choice of antibiotics or duration of treatment at present. Successful treatment is most likely due to early recognition, prompt surgical drainage and appropriate antibiotic. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case from Indonesia that could be identified in the literature.
format Article
id doaj-art-eab8d77605654206b59778a8fb0da806
institution DOAJ
issn 0125-9326
2338-2732
language English
publishDate 2018-04-01
publisher Interna Publishing
record_format Article
series Acta Medica Indonesiana
spelling doaj-art-eab8d77605654206b59778a8fb0da8062025-08-20T02:50:15ZengInterna PublishingActa Medica Indonesiana0125-93262338-27322018-04-01501Chromobacterium violaceum: The Deadly SepsisGuntur Darmawan0R.N. Yasmin Kusumawardhani1Bachti Alisjahbana2Trinugroho Heri Fadjari3Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran-Hasan Sadikin Hospita, Bandung, IndonesiaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran-Hasan Sadikin Hospita, Bandung, IndonesiaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran-Hasan Sadikin Hospita, Bandung, IndonesiaDepartment of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Padjadjaran-Hasan Sadikin Hospita, Bandung, IndonesiaChromobacterium violaceum is a Gram-negative facultatively anaerobic, oxidase-positive bacterium producing a dark violet antioxidant pigment called violacein. It is an opportunistic pathogen and has an ubiquitous distribution, mainly resides in water and soil of tropical and subtropical regions. An-18-year-old man referred to the emergency room with a 5-day history of progressively worsening swelling of the right cheek. He sought consult and hospitalized at another institution for three days prior this admission; however, his condition deteriorated. He had a history of having abscesses several time. Four month before this visit, he was also admitted in our hospital due to an abscess in the right thigh. Pus and blood culture were positive for Staphylococcus haemolyticus, with a total serum IgE of 2493.0 IU/ml. He recovered completely after being treated with vancomycin in this event. He had neither diabetes mellitus nor human immunodeficiency virus infection history. In this presentation, he was in a critically ill state with septic shock. Physical examination revealed diffuse, indurated, partly fluctuant, and some deep purple area of right hemifacial swelling. It was extended anteriorly from angle of mouth to retroauricular, superiorly from superior palpebra to lower border of mandible. Laboratory studies were notable for a white-cell count of 12,970/mm3 (total lymphocyte count 778.2), platelet count 96,000/mm3. The patient got norepinephrine drip and broad-spectrum antibiotic intravenously. He also underwent superficial drainage of the abscess. Unfortunately, the patient eventually succumbed. Sample from right submandibular abscess showed no growth, but blood sample was confirmed to grow C. violaceum. It showed sensitivity to ciprofloxacin, amikacin, cotrimoxazole, chloramphenicol, tetracycline. Since it was firstly described in 1927, only a few cases of human infection with C. violaceum have been reported. As shown in our case, the classical clinical manifestation was localized soft tissue infection which rapidly progressed to fulminant sepsis with a high mortality rate. A defect in host defense system might be the predisposing factor for this kind of infection in our case. As this is such a rare infection, there is no guideline on the choice of antibiotics or duration of treatment at present. Successful treatment is most likely due to early recognition, prompt surgical drainage and appropriate antibiotic. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first reported case from Indonesia that could be identified in the literature. https://www.actamedindones.org/index.php/ijim/article/view/584Chromobacterium violaceumsepsis
spellingShingle Guntur Darmawan
R.N. Yasmin Kusumawardhani
Bachti Alisjahbana
Trinugroho Heri Fadjari
Chromobacterium violaceum: The Deadly Sepsis
Acta Medica Indonesiana
Chromobacterium violaceum
sepsis
title Chromobacterium violaceum: The Deadly Sepsis
title_full Chromobacterium violaceum: The Deadly Sepsis
title_fullStr Chromobacterium violaceum: The Deadly Sepsis
title_full_unstemmed Chromobacterium violaceum: The Deadly Sepsis
title_short Chromobacterium violaceum: The Deadly Sepsis
title_sort chromobacterium violaceum the deadly sepsis
topic Chromobacterium violaceum
sepsis
url https://www.actamedindones.org/index.php/ijim/article/view/584
work_keys_str_mv AT gunturdarmawan chromobacteriumviolaceumthedeadlysepsis
AT rnyasminkusumawardhani chromobacteriumviolaceumthedeadlysepsis
AT bachtialisjahbana chromobacteriumviolaceumthedeadlysepsis
AT trinugrohoherifadjari chromobacteriumviolaceumthedeadlysepsis