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CASE REPORT article

Front. Med.
Sec. Infectious Diseases: Pathogenesis and Therapy
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fmed.2024.1435823

Severe Pneumonia with Empyema Due to Multiple Anaerobic Infections: Case Report and Literature Review

Provisionally accepted
Fangyu Yu Fangyu Yu 1*Xiaojing Zhang Xiaojing Zhang 2Yujiao Li Yujiao Li 1Wei Gai Wei Gai 2Yafeng Zheng Yafeng Zheng 2Xudong Cai Xudong Cai 1
  • 1 Ningbo Municipal Hospital of T.C.M, Ningbo, China
  • 2 WillingMed Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd, Beijing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Cases of severe pneumonia complicated by empyema due to normal anaerobic flora from the oral cavity are infrequent. Diagnosing anaerobic infections through conventional microbiological test (CMT) is often challenging.Case presentation: This study describes the case of a 67-year-old man, bedridden long-term, who developed severe pneumonia with empyema caused by multiple anaerobic bacterial infections. The patient was hospitalized with a five-day history of cough, sputum and fever, accompanied by a twoday history of dyspnea. Despite CMT, the specific etiology remained elusive. However, metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) identified various anaerobic bacteria in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF), blood and pleural effusion. The patient was diagnosed with a polymicrobial infection involving multiple anaerobic bacteria. Following treatment with metronidazole and moxifloxacin, the patient's pulmonary symptoms improved.mNGS serves as a valuable adjunctive tool for diagnosting and managing patients whose etiology remains unidentified following CMT.

    Keywords: Severe pneumonia, Empyema, anaerobic, mixed infection, metagenomic nextgeneration sequencing

    Received: 24 May 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Yu, Zhang, Li, Gai, Zheng and Cai. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Fangyu Yu, Ningbo Municipal Hospital of T.C.M, Ningbo, China

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