BACKGROUND: Rhodococcus equi is an opportunistic pathogen that usually causes infection in immunocompromised hosts, mainly human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients, yet solid organ transplant recipients may be affected as well. Infections in this group of patients have not been sufficiently analyzed. METHODS: We report an R equi pneumonia in a heart transplant recipient and review another 11 cases. RESULTS: Infection appeared a mean of 49 months (range 1-180) after transplantation. Lung was primarily involved in 10 cases (83.3%). The remaining two cases presented with a paravertebral abscess and a purulent pericarditis. Invasive techniques were necessary to reach the diagnosis in nine cases. One patient healed with surgical resection of the lesion; the remaining 11 received antimicrobial agents. Six of them required additional surgical treatment. Three patients died. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should consider R equi when evaluating a solid organ recipient with an asymptomatic lung nodule. Microbiology laboratories should be alerted in these cases because it could be mistaken for a contaminant diphtheroid and will not respond to the standard empirical therapy.
BACKGROUND:Rhodococcus equi is an opportunistic pathogen that usually causes infection in immunocompromised hosts, mainly human immunodeficiency virus-positive patients, yet solid organ transplant recipients may be affected as well. Infections in this group of patients have not been sufficiently analyzed. METHODS: We report an R equi pneumonia in a heart transplant recipient and review another 11 cases. RESULTS:Infection appeared a mean of 49 months (range 1-180) after transplantation. Lung was primarily involved in 10 cases (83.3%). The remaining two cases presented with a paravertebral abscess and a purulent pericarditis. Invasive techniques were necessary to reach the diagnosis in nine cases. One patient healed with surgical resection of the lesion; the remaining 11 received antimicrobial agents. Six of them required additional surgical treatment. Three patients died. CONCLUSIONS: Clinicians should consider R equi when evaluating a solid organ recipient with an asymptomatic lung nodule. Microbiology laboratories should be alerted in these cases because it could be mistaken for a contaminant diphtheroid and will not respond to the standard empirical therapy.
Authors: Pascalis Vergidis; Ella J Ariza-Heredia; Anoma Nellore; Camille N Kotton; Daniel R Kaul; Michele I Morris; Theodoros Kelesidis; Harshal Shah; Seo Young Park; M Hong Nguyen; Raymund R Razonable Journal: Emerg Infect Dis Date: 2017-03 Impact factor: 6.883
Authors: Eline Macken; Hylke de Jonge; Daniël Van Caesbroeck; Jan Verhaegen; Dana Van Kerkhoven; Eric Van Wijngaerden; Dirk Kuypers Journal: Transplant Direct Date: 2015-04-01