An Unexpected Cause of Sepsis: Keep Pursuing the Source of Infection

Abstract

An 86-year-old man was found with altered mental status, fever and aphasia. His physical exam revealed nuchal rigidity but no other meningeal signs. Because the patient’s mental status was declining, he was intubated and placed in mechanical ventilation. His head CT scan was unremarkable, without evidence of mass effect. A lumbar puncture yielded cerebrospinal fluid that was remarkable for the presence of gram-positive cocci in pairs. His blood cultures showed gram-negative bacilli. Given the presence of these organisms, a polymicrobial infection was suspected. An abdomino pelvic CT scan showed a multi-septated abscess within the right hepatic lobe. CT-guided percutaneous drainage was performed and a specimen for culture obtained, which grew Klebsiella pneumoniae. After receiving intravenous antibiotics and supportive care, the patient showed clinical improvement. In this patient, there was a central nervous system infection secondary to bacteremia in the setting of an intrabdominal infection. The inquiring clinician should take note that whenever a polymicrobial infection is evidenced, more than one site of infection should be considered in the differential diagnosis.