Two cases of group A streptococcal vulvovaginitis in premenopausal adults in a sexual health setting

Peritonitis caused by group A streptococcus: A case report and literature review

BACKGROUND

Group A streptococcus (GAS) occasionally causes life-threatening infections. We encountered a case of GAS peritonitis associated with bilateral salpingitis.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 56-year-old previously healthy woman suddenly experienced a fever of 40 °C and lower abdominal pain, and was taken to the emergency room. She exhibited a condition of severe sepsis with pan-peritonitis. Although an intra-peritoneal source of infection was not detected preoperatively, an exploratory laparotomy was performed at 3 h after her arrival. During the surgery, bilateral salpingitis was observed. Peritoneal drainage was performed. Meropenem was administered and she was extubated on the next day. GAS was detected in the vaginal fluid culture and ascitic fluid culture. Antibiotics therapy was completed on postoperative day 9 and the patient was discharged on day 10 without any complications.

METHODS

A literature review was performed using the following algorithm: "(group A streptococcus OR streptococcus pyogenes) AND (peritonitis)". All case reports and case series published in English after 1990 were reviewed.

RESULTS

Fifty-six reports including 65 cases were eligible. There was a strong sex difference, with 80% of cases being female. All patients had symptoms of peritonitis, 80% had high-grade fever, and 74% had shock. The average time from onset to start of treatment was 3.8 days. Abdominal surgeries were required in 80% of cases. Multiple organ failure developed in 23%, and the mortality rate was 4.6%.

DISCUSSION

GAS peritonitis is a rare but life-threatening disease. Emergency surgical exploration and drainage are required to prevent progression to multiple organ failure.

Acute fatal group A Streptococcal primary peritonitis following vaginal delivery

Acute primary peritonitis due to group A streptococci (GAS) is a rare but life-threatening disease most often seen in case of liver cirrhosis or nephrotic syndrome. The specific mechanism of this infection remains unknown and according to the literature hematogenous, lymphatic, retrograde inoculation from the genitourinary tract and translocation of intestinal tract flora have all been proposed. We report a case of a 37-year-old previously healthy patient who presented to the emergency, four days after vaginal delivery, with abdominal pain and septic shock. Acute peritonitis was diagnosed and peritoneal and blood culture revealed group A streptococci. Unfortunately, the patient died within 12 h despite adequate resuscitation and antimicrobials. The present case report highlights the importance of an early diagnosis with an adequate therapy in case of GAS peritonitis after vaginal delivery.

Group A Streptococci: A rare and often misdiagnosed cause of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in adults

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We present three different and well-described cases of severe GAS peritonitis.

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We give a review of current literature.

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We highlight the difficulties in treatment and diagnostics.

Introduction

Acute primary peritonitis due to group A Streptococci (GAS) is a rare but life-threatening infection. Unlike other forms of primary peritonitis it affects predominantly young previously healthy individuals and thus is often confused with the more frequent secondary peritonitis. A case series of three patients is presented as well as a review of the literature focusing on pitfalls in the diagnose and therapy of GAS peritonitis.

Methods

A retrospective analysis of three patients with primary GAS peritonitis was performed. Furthermore a systematic review of all cases of primary GAS peritonitis published from 1990 to 2013 was performed comparing demographics and clinical presentation, as well as radiological imaging, treatment and outcome.

Results

All three female patients presented initially with high fever, nausea and severe abdominal pain. Radiological imaging revealed intraperitoneal fluid collections of various degrees, but no underlying cause of peritonitis. Broad antibiotic treatment was started and surgical exploration was performed for acute abdomen in all three cases. Intraoperatively fibrinous peritonitis was observed, but the correct diagnosis was not made until microbiological analysis confirmed GAS peritonitis. One patient died within 24 h after admission. The other two patients recovered after multiple surgeries and several weeks on the intensive care unit due to multiple organ dysfunction syndrome. The fulminant clinical course of the three patients resembled those of many of the published cases: flu-like symptoms, high fever, severe acute abdominal pain and fibrinous peritonitis without obvious infectious focus were the most common symptoms reported in the literature.

Conclusion

GAS primary peritonitis should be considered in particular in young, previously healthy women who present with peritonitis but lack radiological findings of an infectious focus. The treatment of choice is immediate antibiotic therapy. Surgical intervention is difficult to avoid, since the diagnosis of GAS peritonitis is usually not confirmed until other causes of secondary peritonitis have been excluded.

Genital streptococcal infection in non-pregnant women: a case-note review

Summary

The purpose of this case-note review was to examine the clinical features and management of women with either vulval or vaginal swabs culturing positive for streptococci. Group B haemolytic streptococcus was isolated in all cases. The majority of women with vulval streptococci presented with irritation or soreness. Candidal infection was found in 43% and a dermatosis in 27%. All women with positive vaginal culture had vaginal soreness and/or discharge. Candida was isolated in 27% and there were features of desquamative vaginitis in 20%. Women treated with erythromycin failed to improve symptomatically. The findings of this study suggest that streptococci mostly play a secondary role and colonize an already damaged genital epithelium.

Gram-positive bacterial superantigen outside-in signaling causes toxic shock syndrome

Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococci) are Gram-positive pathogens capable of producing a variety of bacterial exotoxins known as superantigens. Superantigens interact with antigen-presenting cells (APCs) and T cells to induce T cell proliferation and massive cytokine production, which leads to fever, rash, capillary leak and subsequent hypotension, the major symptoms of toxic shock syndrome. Both S. aureus and group A streptococci colonize mucosal surfaces, including the anterior nares and vagina for S. aureus, and the oropharynx and less commonly the vagina for group A streptococci. However, due to their abilities to secrete a variety of virulence factors, the organisms can also cause illnesses from the mucosa. This review provides an updated discussion of the biochemical and structural features of one group of secreted virulence factors, the staphylococcal and group A streptococcal superantigens, and their abilities to cause toxic shock syndrome from a mucosal surface. The main focus of this review, however, is the abilities of superantigens to induce cytokines and chemokines from epithelial cells, which has been linked to a dodecapeptide region that is relatively conserved among all superantigens and is distinct from the binding sites required for interactions with APCs and T cells. This phenomenon, termed outside-in signaling, acts to recruit adaptive immune cells to the submucosa, where the superantigens can then interact with those cells to initiate the final cytokine cascades that lead to toxic shock syndrome.

Group A streptococcal vaginitis: an unrecognized cause of vaginal symptoms in adult women

PURPOSE

Vaginal infection with group A streptococci (GAS) is an established cause of vaginitis amongst prepubescent girls, but largely unrecognized in adult women and therefore often misdiagnosed as vulvovaginal candidosis. We sought to give an overview of the epidemiology, risk factors, symptoms, signs, and treatment of GAS vaginitis in adult women.

METHODS

Systematic literature search.

RESULTS

We identified nine case reports covering 12 patients with documented GAS vulvovaginitis. GAS vulvovaginitis in adult women is often associated with a predisposing factor: (1) household or personal history of dermal or respiratory infection due to GAS, (2) sexual contact, and (3) lactational or menopausal vaginal atrophy. Symptoms of GAS vulvovaginitis in adult women may include vaginal and/or vulvar pain, dyspareunia, burning sensation or irritation, and pruritus. In most cases, there is also profuse or copious vaginal discharge which may be watery, yellow, or even purulent. Whilst there are neither clinical trials nor treatment guidelines, treatment with oral penicillin or with vaginal clindamycin cream has been reported to result in rapid cure. In breast-feeding and postmenopausal women with vaginal atrophy, additional treatment with local estriol may be necessary to prevent recurrence. Finally, in case of recurrent GAS vulvovaginitis it will be necessary to assess the patients' asymptomatic household members for pharyngeal and anal carriage and to treat them accordingly.

CONCLUSION

Vaginal infection with GAS in adult women is a clearly defined entity and should be considered a diagnosis when more common causes of vaginitis have been ruled out.

Group A Streptococcus vulvovaginitis in breastfeeding women

Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus-associated vulvovaginitis is uncommon in adult women. Clinicians should include group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus as a possible cause of vulvovaginal symptoms in breastfeeding women. Along with appropriate antibiotic therapy, vaginal estrogen therapy may be considered to diminish susceptibility to recurrent infection in women with vaginal atrophy.

Lactational amenorrhea as a risk factor for group a streptococcal vaginitis

We report a case of Streptococcus pyogenes, beta-hemolytic Streptococcus, Lancefield group A vulvovaginitis in an otherwise healthy adult female patient experiencing lactational amenorrhea. Group A streptococcal infection is the infective cause of vulvovaginitis in 21% of prepubescent girls, but it is an uncommon cause of vulvovaginitis in adults. Group A streptococcal vulvovaginitis is frequently associated with households that have had a recent outbreak of respiratory or dermal infection. The case described here appears to be unusual in that it was sexually transmitted, and the lack of estrogen associated with anovualtion may have been a predisposing factor for this unusual sexually transmitted disease.