Gemella morbillorum as a cause of septic shock.
The gram-positive bacterium Gemella morbillorum has been recovered from patients with endocarditis but has rarely been associated with acute fulminant infections. We describe two children with a rapid onset of septic shock, which was fatal in one, following infection with this organism. G. morbillorum is a commensal organism of the upper respiratory tract; it gained access to the bloodstreams in these patients, and bacteremia occurred. A clinical drawback is that the initial colonial morphology of this organism leads to presumptive identification as a viridans streptococcus, an organism not commonly associated with septic shock syndrome. Resistance of G. morbillorum to penicillin appears to be common; therefore, initial empirical combination therapy (a beta-lactam agent and an aminoglycoside) or vancomycin treatment should be considered.
Vasishtha
S
S
Division of Infectious Diseases, Schneider Children's Hospital, New Hyde Park, New York 11040, USA.
Isenberg
H D
HD
Sood
S K
SK
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005260:Female; D016908:Gram-Positive Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy*; D006095:Gram-Positive Cocci / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D010403:Penicillin Resistance; D012772:Shock, Septic / Q000382:microbiology*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents