Lawsonella clevelandensis causing spinal subdural empyema

Infection caused by Lawsonella clevelandensis after breast augmentation with autologous fat grafting: a case report

BACKGROUND

Lawsonella clevelandensis is one recently documented anaerobic, which is partially acid-fast. Nevertheless, it is rarely found to be associated with human infections, especially in scope of plastic and cosmetic surgery before our patient who was performed breast augmentation with autologous fat grafting. Breast augmentation is becoming popular, the most common post-surgery complication of which is bacterial infection.

CASE PRESENTATION

A 29-year-old female who was found swelling in her right breast and fever after breast augmentation surgery with autologous fat grafting was administered. Before administration, she had been treated with antibiotics (details unknown) for more than 1 month without any significant improvements. After administration, she was treated with intravenous antibiotic empirically and repeated debridement via Vaccuum Sealing Drainage (VSD). And samples of the necrotic tissues and pus collected in surgery were sent for microbiological testing. However, routine examination failed. Thus samples were further collected and sent to Genoxor Medical & Science Technology Inc. (Shanghai, China) to conduct Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS). Surprisingly Lawsonella clevelandensis was determined. Accordingly, sensitive antibiotic was applied in concert with thorough debridement and drainage and finally her condition was completely reversed with wound closure gradually.

CONCLUSION

Complications of breast augmentation with autologous fat graft are various, of which infection is most common. Rare pathogen such as Lawsonella clevelandensis infection in human is rare in clinical practice. Moreover, it is difficult to differentiate from non-tuberculous mycobacterium for its partial acid resistance, difficulty to culture and abscess formation. How to determine diagnosis of Lawsonella clevelandensis infection accurately come to be critical In our report, NGS is recommended as a useful method to identify the pathogen, which may provide us a novel tool for refractory wound.

Management of non-vestibular schwannomas in adult patients: a systematic review and consensus statement on behalf of the EANS skull base section Part II: Trigeminal and facial nerve schwannomas (CN V, VII)

BACKGROUND

Non-vestibular schwannomas are relatively rare, with trigeminal and jugular foramen schwannomas being the most common. This is a heterogenous group which requires detailed investigation and careful consideration to management strategy. The optimal management for these tumours remains unclear and there are several controversies. The aim of this paper is to provide insight into the main principles defining management and surgical strategy, in order to formulate a series of recommendations.

METHODS

A task force was created by the EANS skull base section committee along with its members and other renowned experts in the field to generate recommendations for the surgical management of these tumours on a European perspective. To achieve this, the task force performed an extensive systematic review in this field and had discussions within the group. This article is the second of a three-part series describing non-vestibular schwannomas (V, VII).

RESULTS

A summary of literature evidence was proposed after discussion within the EANS skull base section. The constituted task force dealt with the practice patterns that exist with respect to pre-operative radiological investigations, ophthalmological assessments, optimal surgical and radiotherapy strategies, and follow-up management.

CONCLUSION

This article represents the consensually derived opinion of the task force with respect to the treatment of trigeminal and facial schwannoma. The aim of treatment is maximal safe resection with preservation of function. Careful thought is required to select the appropriate surgical approach. Most middle fossa trigeminal schwannoma tumours can be safely accessed by a subtemporal extradural middle fossa approach. The treatment of facial nerve schwannoma remains controversial.

An explanation for Terson syndrome at last: the glymphatic reflux theory

Terson Syndrome (TS) describes the presence of intraocular hemorrhage in patients with intracranial hemorrhage, typically subarachnoid hemorrhage. Despite TS being a well-defined and frequently occurring phenomenon, its pathophysiology remains controversial. This review will present the current understanding of TS, with view to describing a contemporary and more plausible pathomechanism of TS, given recent advances in ophthalmic science and neurobiology. Previously proposed theories include a sudden rise in intracranial pressure (ICP) transmitted to the optic nerve sheath leading to rupture of retinal vessels; or intracranial blood extending to the orbit via the optic nerve sheath. The origin of blood in TS is uncertain, but retinal vessels appear to be an unlikely source. In addition, an anatomical pathway for blood to enter the eye from the intracranial space remains poorly defined. An ocular glymphatic system has recently been described, drainage of which from the globe into intracranial glymphatics is reliant on the pressure gradient between intraocular pressure and intracranial pressure. The glymphatic pathway is the only extravascular anatomical conduit between the subarachnoid space and the retina. We propose that subarachnoid blood in skull base cisterns near the optic nerve is the substrate of blood in TS. Raised ICP causes it to be refluxed through glymphatic channels into the globe, resulting in intraocular hemorrhage. We herewith present glymphatic reflux as an alternative theory to explain the phenomenon of Terson Syndrome.

Lawsonella clevelandensis is a rare cause of infected chronic contained rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysm

Lawsonella clevelandensis is an anaerobic, partially acid-fast, Gram-positive bacillus associated with abscess formation. We present the case of a 70-year-old male with chronic contained rupture of abdominal aortic aneurysm (CCR-AAA) complicated by intra-abdominal abscess formation. An abdominal computed tomography scan revealed a rim-enhancing retroperitoneal collection tracking into the subcutaneous layer of the left flank and buttock, suggestive of CCR-AAA with infected haematoma. He underwent ultrasound-guided needle aspiration of the intra-abdominal collection. Conventional culture techniques failed to isolate L. clevelandensis, and the diagnosis was only confirmed by means of 16S rRNA PCR. The patient underwent branched endovascular repair of his aneurysm, and was commenced on treatment with co-amoxiclav, resulting in significant reduction in the size of the infected collection. This is only the second reported case of infection with L. clevelandensis in the UK, and the first reported case of this organism causing infected CCR-AAA.

Liver abscess caused by Lawsonella clevelandensis in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis: A case report and literature review

Lawsonella clevelandensis is a recently described anaerobic and partially acid-fast bacterium within the order Corynebacterineae. It is a fastidious microorganism that has been identified as part of the oral microbiota and is rarely associated with human infections. We describe the case of a 70-year-old man with a history of rheumatoid arthritis that developed liver abscesses and pylephlebitis. Gram stain of purulent material obtained by percutaneous drainage of the hepatic collection revealed gram-positive bacilli that stained acid-fast by the Kinyoun method. The patient was initially treated with imipenem, moxifloxacin and clarithromycin for possible Nocardia and/or nontuberculous mycobacterial infection. Cultures failed to grow the organism seen on the stains, and broad-spectrum 16S rRNA PCR gene sequencing analysis identified it as Lawsonella clevelandensis. Treatment was de-escalated to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. The hepatic abscesses resolved completely after 4 weeks of treatment.

There are only 8 documented cases of human infection caused by Lawsonella clevelandensis reported in the literature. Conventional microbiological methods do not reliably detect this bacterium, and the diagnosis relies on molecular methods. Excellent outcomes are obtained with a combined treatment approach that includes abscess drainage and prolonged antibiotic therapy.