AUTHOR=Alvarez George V. , Rupert Deborah D. , Sinclair Samantha , Miyara Santiago J. , Guevara Sara , Shih Peter , Hoey Cynthia TITLE=Cardiac arrest associated with non-toxigenic corynebacterium diphtheria strain: A case report JOURNAL=Frontiers in Medicine VOLUME=9 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/medicine/articles/10.3389/fmed.2022.1003193 DOI=10.3389/fmed.2022.1003193 ISSN=2296-858X ABSTRACT=

Here we document a rare, acute, infection caused by non-toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae and the resulting unique and severe clinical sequelae. Our patient was a young man with no known pre-existing conditions that presented in cardiopulmonary arrest. We contrast this case with prior instances of non-toxigenic C. diphtheriae strain infection in the United States and summarize the literature that suggests systemic infection can result in cardiogenic toxicity. We speculate on a possible missed, pre-existing condition that could have increased this patient’s susceptibility to poor clinical outcome.