Rapidly Progressive and Almost Lethal Pneumonia

Abstract

We herein describe the case of a 65-year-old male patient who presented with Osler’s triad, which is the combination of endocarditis, pneumonia, and meningitis. This report is even more unusual since the pathogen isolated was the invasive and virulent strain of Streptococcus pneumoniae serotype 3. The clinical entity described is also called Austrian syndrome. Even though rare in this antibiotic era, the syndrome remains one of high morbidity and mortality. This particular case is of paramount importance for the clinician reader. First, it documents the clinical features associated with invasive pneumococcal disease and the Austrian syndrome. Second, and equally important, it highlights why following the Surviving Sepsis Campaign guidelines saves lives. For this case, the following steps were taken: 1. As a surrogate for perfusion, early and aggressive fluid resuscitation therapy (guided by lactic acid levels) was instituted; 2. also early in the treatment , broad spectrum antibiotics were administered; 3. to guide antibiotic therapy, microbiological cultures were obtained. The patient subsequently improved and was transferred to the internal medicine ward to complete 4 weeks of antibiotic therapy.