Automated microbial detection system (AMDs) are design to detect early growth of bacterial and fungal. We herein report a rare case of false positive blood culture by AMDs in Plasmodium falciparum infection. A 41-year-old pre- viously healthy lady, with recent history of travelling to Lagos, Nigeria had presented to the casualty with history of fever and lethargy for three days. There was no malaria prophylaxis taken prior to the travelling history. Peripheral blood smear confirmed the presence of young trophozoite of Plasmodium falciparum with parasitemia of 7%. Con- current blood culture sent was positive, however all subcultures were negative for any growth. She was treated with intravenous artesunate however succumbed to death on the day of admission due to severe falciparum infection complicated with multiorgan failure and shock. The aim of this report is to highlight, the circumstances that can trigger the false positive AMDs detection and the possible underlying mechanism.
Rhinocerebral mucormycosis is a potentially fatal and progressive angioinvasive fungal infection. It is classically described in patients with uncontrolled diabetes mellitus and hematological malignancies. This report describes a case of progressive rhinocerebral mucormycosis in a patient with poorly controlled diabetes who was on prolonged prednisolone therapy for autoimmune kidney disease. The patient, who was a female, presented to hospital with headache, orbital pain and nasal bridge swelling. Black eschar on nasal mucosae was present on admission. Later, she was started on intravenous fluconazole for the diagnosis of fungal sinusitis. Subsequently, she developed intra- cerebral haemorrhage complicated with transtentorial herniation. Diagnosis of rhinocerebral mucormycosis was later observed by a laboratory finding and the treatment was changed to intravenous amphotericin B. However, the patient succumbed to her illness on the 6th day of hospitalisation. This report discusses the risk factors associated with rhinocerebral mucormycosis as well as the underlying pathogenesis. This report will also highlight the importance of early diagnosis and appropriate treatment for mucormycosis to improve prognosis in patients.
We report a rare case of Ochrobactrum anthropi bacteremia in a previously healthy young man who was admitted for severe dengue. O. anthropi is a rarely encountered Gram negative organism which is resistant to commonly used beta-lactam antibiotics. This organism is usually interpreted as a contaminant as it is ubiquitous in the environment. Isolation of this organism upon admission suggested a community-acquired infection. He had persistent bacteremia and had to be treated with a prolonged course of meropenem and ciprofloxacin. This case report highlights the importance of early diagnosis and prompt treatment of this otherwise contaminant as previous reports showed this organism can be an opportunistic pathogen which may lead to severe infection.