A case of round pneumonia due to Enterobacter hormaechei: the need for a standardized diagnosis and treatment approach in adults

ABSTRACT Round pneumonia is an unusual radiological manifestation of a bacterial lung infection. We present the case of an elderly male patient who arrived at the emergency room with a productive cough and exertional dyspnea. His chest x-ray and CT showed a round opacity and air bronchograms in the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
Main Authors: Raúl Alberto Jiménez-Castillo, Leonardo René Aguilar-Rivera, Edgar Francisco Carrizales-Sepúlveda, Ricardo Andrés Gómez-Quiroz, Anabella Rosalía Llantada-López, Julio Edgardo González-Aguirre, Homero Náñez-Terreros, Erick Joel Rendón-Ramírez
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Universidade de São Paulo (USP) 2021
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1590/s1678-9946202163003
https://doaj.org/article/1ea1fbfdf33c4115acceefc43bc375a1
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT Round pneumonia is an unusual radiological manifestation of a bacterial lung infection. We present the case of an elderly male patient who arrived at the emergency room with a productive cough and exertional dyspnea. His chest x-ray and CT showed a round opacity and air bronchograms in the right upper lobe. Taken together, the patient’s symptoms and images strongly suggest a pulmonary infection. Empirical antibiotic therapy with ceftriaxone and clarithromycin was started. The sputum culture was positive for Enterobacter hormaechei and the bacterium was sensitive to levofloxacin; therefore, the antibiotic therapy was changed. Despite the treatment, the patient progressed to respiratory failure and septic shock, dying six days after admission. Although round pneumonia is uncommon, it is a potentially curable disease and clinicians should always consider it in their differential diagnosis.