Listeria monocytogenes is a gram positive bacillus responsible for listeriosis. This infection manifests mainly as bacteremia and / or central nervous system (CNS) infection. Involvement of other sites is rare. Pleural listeriosis is an uncommon presentation of L. monocytogenes infection and there is little data to guide the management of these patients. First-line antibiotics used empirically to treat bacterial respiratory infections are ineffective in treating these L. monocytogenes infections, which contributes to the progression of the infection and a worse prognosis. We present a case report of a patient admitted to an intensive care unit with septic shock secondary to systemic listeriosis with L. monocytogenes isolation in pleural fluid culture and blood cultures. The evolution of the hospitalization and the clinical outcome are reported.
Learning points:
Pleural listeriosis is an infection rarely observed in clinical practice.It is typically found in immunosuppressed patients.Delay in the identification of this microorganism and the empirical use of inappropriate antibiotics may lead to an adverse outcome.