Villasuso-Alcocer V, Flores-Tapia JP, Perez-Garfias F, Rochel-Perez A, Mendez-Dominguez N. Serratia fonticola and its role as a single pathogen causing emphysematous pyelonephritis in a non-diabetic patient: A case report. World J Clin Cases 2022; 10(29): 10600-10605 [PMID: 36312511 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i29.10600]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Nina Mendez-Dominguez, DSc, MD, PhD, Doctor, Research Scientist, Research and Learning, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de la Peninsula de Yucatan, Fraccionamiento Altabrisa, Street 7 Number 433 Merida, Merida 97130, Yucatan, Mexico. ninamendezdominguez@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Infectious Diseases
Article-Type of This Article
Case Report
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Clin Cases. Oct 16, 2022; 10(29): 10600-10605 Published online Oct 16, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i29.10600
Serratia fonticola and its role as a single pathogen causing emphysematous pyelonephritis in a non-diabetic patient: A case report
Victor Villasuso-Alcocer, Juan P Flores-Tapia, Fernando Perez-Garfias, Andrea Rochel-Perez, Nina Mendez-Dominguez
Victor Villasuso-Alcocer, Scholar at Direccion General de Calidad y Educacion en Salud, Secretaría de Salud, Mexico 11570, Mexico
Juan P Flores-Tapia, Fernando Perez-Garfias, Andrea Rochel-Perez, Urology Department, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de la Peninsula de Yucatan, Merida 97300, Yucatan, Mexico
Nina Mendez-Dominguez, Research and Learning, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de la Peninsula de Yucatan, Merida 97130, Yucatan, Mexico
Author contributions: Mendez-Dominguez N and Flores-Tapia JP contributed to conceptualization; Flores-Tapia JP and Perez-Garfias F contributed to clinical management; Rochel-Perez A, Perez-Garfias F and Villasuso-Alcocer V contributed to review investigation; Rochel-Perez A and Villasuso-Alcocer V contributed to writing and original draft preparation; Mendez-Dominguez N and Flores-Tapia JP contributed to review and editing; Mendez-Dominguez N and Flores-Tapia JP contributed to project administration; all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Written informed consent was obtained from the patient.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Nina Mendez-Dominguez, DSc, MD, PhD, Doctor, Research Scientist, Research and Learning, Hospital Regional de Alta Especialidad de la Peninsula de Yucatan, Fraccionamiento Altabrisa, Street 7 Number 433 Merida, Merida 97130, Yucatan, Mexico. ninamendezdominguez@gmail.com
Received: March 15, 2022 Peer-review started: March 15, 2022 First decision: April 13, 2022 Revised: April 15, 2022 Accepted: August 21, 2022 Article in press: August 21, 2022 Published online: October 16, 2022 Processing time: 197 Days and 14.6 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Diagnosis of emphysematous pyelonephritis has been described around the world for some decades, frequently associated with Escherichia coli and other anaerobic, gas-forming bacteria and mostly in patients living with diabetes. We present a case report of emphysematous pyelonephritis in a non-diabetic patient caused by Serratia fonticola as well as a brief literature review to draw attention to this rare pathogen as a cause of pyelonephritis.
CASE SUMMARY
A 38-year-old female presented with fever, severe pain in the right flank and changes in urinary habits. She was admitted, and emphysematous pyelonephritis was confirmed by an abdominal computerized tomography and urine cultures; the latter showed Serratia fonticola as a single pathogen. After 3 d of being treated with piperacillin/tazobactam and percutaneous drainage she became afebrile, and the gas presence reduced.
CONCLUSION
Emphysematous pyelonephritis infections in non-diabetic patients are rare but can be severe and life-threatening. This case suggests that Serratia fonticola infection can occur in patients undergoing invasive or instrumented procedures.
Core Tip: Serratia fonticola may still be rare as a human pathogen, either associated to asymptomatic conditions or merely a bystander among other agents, but its incidence may relate to severe cases when patients undergo invasive, instrumented procedures or underlying conditions, as presented in this case of the female who developed emphysematous pyelonephritis.
