Bacteremia and ecthyma caused by Streptococcus pyogenes in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

Skin conditions in the athlete

Dermatologic conditions are a common presenting complaint in the athletic training room. There are many different causes for rashes, and treatment options vary depending on the condition and the severity. Bacterial infections of the skin have a variety of different appearances and can spread rapidly among individuals. Healthcare providers need to be aware of the increasing prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus when making the choice of antibiotics. Other infectious rashes, including tinea and herpes, are well-described conditions in wrestlers; however, these rashes can be seen in any athlete, especially those engaged in contact sports. Early recognition and appropriate treatment are important to clear the rash and reduce the spread to others. In addition to infectious rashes, athletes are prone to mechanical rashes and skin conditions due to friction and tight-fitting equipment. Sports medicine providers must not only diagnose and treat these conditions but also be aware of the return-to-play guidelines set forth by the governing bodies under which he or she operates.

Microbiology and management of soft tissue and muscle infections

This review summarizes the microbiological aspects and management of soft tissue and muscle infections. The infections presented are: impetigo, folliculitis, furunculosis and carbuncles, cellulitis, erysipelas, infectious gangrene (includes necrotizing fasciitis or streptococcal gangrene, gas gangrene or clostridium myonecrosis, anaerobic cellulites, progressive bacterial synergistic gangrene, synergistic necrotizing cellulitis or perineal phlegmon, gangrenous balanitis, and gangrenous cellulitis in the immunocompromised patient), secondary bacterial infections complication skin lesions, diabetic and other chronic superficial skin ulcers and subcutaneous abscesses and myositis. These infections often occur in body sites or in those that have been compromised or injured by foreign body, trauma, ischemia, malignancy or surgery. In addition to Group A streptococci and Staphylococcus aureus, the indigenous aerobic and anaerobic cutaneous and mucous membranes local microflora usually is responsible for polymicrobial infections. These infections may occasionally lead to serious potentially life-threatening local and systemic complications. The infections can progress rapidly and early recognition and proper medical and surgical management is the cornerstone of therapy.

[Infectious bacteremic ecthyma in a patient with HIV infection]

Ecthyma is a deep ulcerative pyoderma usually caused by group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (Streptococcus pyogenes). It usually presents in areas of damaged skin and in immunocompromised patients, and very infrequently is accompanied by general symptoms and bacteremia. We describe the case of a 41-year-old female patient with HIV infection who presented with fever and ulcerated lesions on the right ankle and left foot which had been developing for three weeks. Streptococcus pyogenes and Escherichia coli were simultaneously isolated from a culture of the skin biopsy sample and from blood cultures. Escherichia coli is of dubious pathogenic significance in this case.

The immune compromised host in the twenty-first century: management of mucocutaneous infections

Infectious diseases encountered in dermatology have changed tremendously during the past few decades with the emergence of the immunocompromised host. This change is a result of the human immunodeficiency virus epidemic, use of immunomodulating drugs, bone marrow transplantation, increasing prevalence of diabetes mellitus, and an aging population. New pathogens have been discovered and new disorders have occurred. In the compromised host, infection can be more aggressive and widespread locally, be caused by opportunistic pathogens, and be disseminated hematogenously from or to the skin. The prevalence of nonmelanoma skin cancer has increased, and squamous cell carcinomas can be more aggressive with more rapid local growth as well as frequency of metastasis.

Group A streptococcal bacteremia. A 10-year prospective study

In this paper we present a prospective evaluation of 100 patients with Group A Streptococcal (GAS) bacteremia evaluated in our hospital over a 10-year period. Sixty-two patients were intravenous drug users (IVDU); all but 1 of these had an obvious cutaneous portal of entry related to the injection of illicit drugs. Twenty-seven patients had infectious metastasis, and the presence of septic pulmonary embolism was associated with suppurative phlebitis. Four of these patients had endocarditis. In the non-IVDU group, 24 patients had an underlying disease, and 12 were immunosuppressed. In 14 cases the infection was of hospital acquisition; in 35% infection was related to medical manipulations. Comparing the IVDU and non-IVDU groups, GAS bacteremia in IVDU patients is associated with a more benign outcome, a longer time of evolution before diagnosis, and a lower frequency of septic shock and mortality than in non-IVDU patients. Although in the univariate analysis GAS bacteremia was associated with several variables, in the multivariate analysis only the presence of shock and nosocomial acquisition of the infection were independently associated with a fatal outcome. Fifty-two patients were infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); 5 of these were in the non-IVDU group. During the last 5 years of study, GAS bacteremia in our hospital was 39 times more frequent in HIV-infected patients than in patients without HIV. Nine patients presented clinical criteria corresponding to Streptococcal toxic shock syndrome (STSS), although its incidence was lower in the IVDU group. In the non-IVDU group, STSS was more frequent in patients with a necrotizing portal of entry, an age between 20 and 40 years, women, and when the origin of the infection was the skin or soft tissue. Six patients with STSS died, and death was associated with the presence of necrotizing lesions and lower counts of white cells, platelets, or hemoglobin.

Bacterial infections

Non-opportunistic bacterial infections are an important cause of morbidity and mortality for HIV-infected adults and children. Factors associated with increased risk of these include altered B- and T-cell function; altered phagocytic cell function; skin and mucous membrane defects; and use of indwelling vascular catheters, antibiotics, or cytotoxic agents. The pathogens encountered most frequently are S. aureus, S. pneumoniae, H. influenzae, Salmonella sp., and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Less commonly encountered organisms include Rhodococcus equi, Listeria monocytogenes, Shigella sp., and Nocardia asteroides, Strategies for prevention as well as diagnosis and treatment of these are discussed.

Group A streptococcal cellulitis-adenitis in a patient with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome

A rapidly enlarging left inguinal adenitis, with positive groove sign, and fever, chills, malaise, hypotension, headache, scarlatiniform rash, choleroid diarrhea, and proteinuria developed in an homosexual man who was positive for human immunodeficiency virus. The needle aspiration of the inguinal mass showed group A beta-hemolytic streptococci and the blood cultures were negative, suggesting group A streptococcal cellulitis-adenitis with toxic strep syndrome. Treatment with penicillin and surgical drainage was successful. Bacterial infections associated with defective humoral immunity appear to be common in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and some of these infections have a remarkable extensive and lethal evolution. Therefore streptococcal adenitis should be considered in any patient with AIDS or AIDS-related syndrome in whom rapidly enlarging inguinal nodes develop.

Invasive streptococcal infections in the era before the acquired immune deficiency syndrome: a 10 years' compilation of patients with streptococcal bacteraemia in North Yorkshire

Significant streptococcal (non-pneumococcal, non-enterococcal) bacteraemia was detected in 100 patients in two Health Districts of North Yorkshire in the decade 1978-1988. Patients with these infections accounted for 11% of the total 902 patients in the districts in whom bacteraemia was diagnosed during the period. Infection was most often seen with beta-haemolytic streptococci (52 patients) comprising Lancefield group A (Streptococcus pyogenes) (20 patients), group B (13), group C (5), group G (9), haemolytic Streptococcus milleri and non-groupable streptococci (5). The wide variety of serious infections included cellulitis, abscess, septicaemia, pneumonia, septic arthritis, necrotising fasciitis, acute endocarditis and mycotic aneurysm. Of these 52 patients, 21 (40%) died. alpha-Haemolytic streptococcal bacteraemia was diagnosed in 38 patients of whom 24 (63%) suffered from endocarditis and three (8%) died. Three of ten patients with non-haemolytic or anaerobic streptococcal bacteraemia died also. Six of the 100 patients with streptococcal bacteraemia had concomitant acute virus infections. Of the total 56 patients with infective endocarditis diagnosed in the districts during the period, streptococci were responsible in 30 (54%) of them. The predisposing factors, clinical features and outcome of the infections are described and discussed.