A Case of Empyema Caused by Streptococcus Constellatus.

Ryu, Yong Suc; Lee, Jae Hyung; Lee, Byung Hoon; Kim, Sang Hoon; Yang, Dong Jin; Ryu, Sang Ryol; Yu, Yun Hwa; Cheong, Mi Youn; Chae, Jeong Don

doi:2009.66.6.463

Tuberc Respir Dis > Volume 66(6); 2009 > Article

Case Report

Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases 2009;66(6):463-466.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4046/trd.2009.66.6.463 Published online June 1, 2009.

A Case of Empyema Caused by Streptococcus Constellatus.

Yong Suc Ryu, Jae Hyung Lee, Byung Hoon Lee, Sang Hoon Kim, Dong Jin Yang, Sang Ryol Ryu, Yun Hwa Yu, Mi Youn Cheong, Jeong Don Chae

¹Department of Internal Medicine, Eulji Hospital, Eulji University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. hoonakr@eulji.ac.kr
²Department of Laboratory Medicine, Eulji Hospital, Eulji University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Streptococcus constellatus (S. constellatus) is a commensal microorganism belonging to the "Streptococcus milleri" group, but may cause infections in different locations in immunocompromised patients. The infection of S. constellatus has high mortality and morbidity due to its tendency to cause abscesses in infected patients, which require immediate surgical drainage for effective treatment. We report on a 72-year-old woman with end stage renal disease, who suffered from dyspnea and general weakness that had developed over 7 days. Chest CT showed loculated pleural effusion. S. constellatus was cultured from exudative pleural effusions and confirmed by an analysis of 16S rRNA sequence. The patient was treated with drainage of pleural effusion and piperacillin/tazobactam for 5 weeks.

Key Words: Streptococcus constellatus, Streptococcus milleri group, Empyema