Endocarditis due to Hemophilus aphrophilus: report of a case with possible transmission from dog to man

Vertebral infections caused by Haemophilus aphrophilus: case report and review

OBJECTIVE

To review in detail clinical presentation, bacteriologic findings, associated conditions and treatment of Haemophilus aphrophilus vertebral osteomyelitis and to compare them to a case we report herein.

METHODS

A Medline (National Library of Medicine) search of the literature was performed by using the key words H. aphrophilus, spondylodiscitis, discitis, and vertebral osteomyelitis. The references of the case reports were examined for additional cases, especially those cited in older articles that had not been entered onto the bibliographic database.

RESULTS

A case report of spondylodiscitis due to H. aphrophilus in a 35-year-old patient with a history of dental abscess 7 months before admission is presented. The patient responded well to treatment with ceftriaxone and ciprofloxacin. To date, only 14 cases of H. aphrophilus vertebral osteomyelitis have been reported. They are usually reported in middle-aged patients, usually male. Most recent cases have been treated with fluoroquinolones. Duration of treatment usually ranges from 1 to 3 months.

CONCLUSIONS

H. aphrophilus is an uncommon cause of vertebral osteomyelitis. Patients are regularly cured by antibiotic therapy, provided that a tissue biopsy is performed in order to isolate the causative bacterium.

Haemophilus aphrophilus discitis and vertebral osteomyelitis

An unusual case of discitis and vertebral osteomyelitis due to Haemophilus aphrophilus is described. Infections due to this organism have usually responded to treatment with beta-lactam antibiotics. However, our isolate was resistant to third-generation cephalosporins which has not been reported previously in the world literature. The patient made a good clinical response to ciprofloxacin treatment.

Haemophilus aphrophilus isolated from blood

H. aphrophilus was isolated from 11 successively cultivated blood samples of a male (72) with a fatal atypical endocarditis. Identification and differential diagnosis from Actinobacillus (Haemophilus) actinomycetemcomitans was done on the basis of phenotypic characters of the microorganism.

Haemophilus aphrophilus: a rare pathogen in vertebral osteomyelitis

A case of vertebral osteomyelitis due to Haemophilus aphrophilus is presented. We review the clinical and bacteriological findings and emphasise the need for careful bacteriological investigation. To the best of our knowledge this is the second reported case of vertebral osteomyelitis caused by this rarely recognised pathogen.

Severe pulmonary infection by Haemophilus aphrophilus in a non-compromised child

A Haemophilus aphrophilus pulmonary infection with abscess formation in a previously healthy 9-year-old girl is reported. This has not been reported earlier in the literature. The clinical features were extremely severe with respiratory, circulatory and renal insufficiency. Artificial ventilation for 10 days was necessary, initially with 100% oxygen and extremely high airway pressure. The girl is now in perfect health again.

Hemophilus aphrophilus osteomyelitis

Hemophilus aphrophilus is a slow-growing, aerobic (capnophilic), gram-negative bacillus. H. aphrophilus was the cause of hematogenous vertebral osteomyelitis in a patient who had a lip laceration. This was successfully treated with parenteral penicillin. The antimicrobial susceptibilities of 14 antimicrobial agents are presented.