Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2003 Nov;14(6):339-43.
doi: 10.1155/2003/219027.

Invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae infection causing hemolytic uremic syndrome in children: Two recent cases

Otto G Vanderkooi  1 , James D Kellner, Andrew W Wade, Tajdin Jadavji, Julian P Midgley, Thomas Louie, Gregory J Tyrell
Affiliations
Case Reports

Invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae infection causing hemolytic uremic syndrome in children: Two recent cases

Otto G Vanderkooi et al. Can J Infect Dis. 2003 Nov.

Abstract

Introduction: Streptococcus pneumoniae is an uncommon cause of hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) with a unique pathophysiology that differs from Shiga toxin-related HUS.

Methods: Case descriptions for each patient are provided. Each strain of S pneumoniae was subjected to a pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) analysis, Shiga toxin assay and polymerase chain reaction to detect Shiga toxin genes. A review of the current literature was conducted.

Case presentations: Two patients with S pneumoniae-related HUS that presented to the Alberta Children's Hospital, Calgary, Alberta, within four weeks of each other in 2001 are described. Both presented with pneumonia and empyema with associated HUS. Both patients required dialysis, one patient for 10 days and the other for 18 days. Neither patient demonstrated evidence of Shiga toxin-related disease. S pneumoniae isolated from blood or pleural fluid was penicillin susceptible. One isolate was serotype 3 and the other was serotype 14. The two strains had different PFGE patterns. Both patients recovered well with no persistent renal dysfunction.

Conclusions: S pneumoniaecontinues to be an uncommon but important cause of HUS. Most cases can be confirmed or at least considered probable without performing a renal biopsy.

Keywords: Hemolytic uremic syndrome; Streptococcus pneumoniae.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Klein PJ, Bulla M, Newman RA, et al. Thomsen-Friedenreich antigen in haemolytic-uraemic syndrome. Lancet 1977;ii:1024-5. - PubMed
    1. Moorthy B, Makker SP. Hemolytic-uremic syndrome associated with pneumococcal sepsis. J Pediatr 1979;95:558-9. - PubMed
    1. Cabrera GR, Fortenberry JD, Warshaw BL, Chambliss CR, Butler JC, Cooperstone BG. Hemolytic uremic syndrome associated with invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae infection. Pediatrics 1998;101:699-703. - PubMed
    1. McTaggart SJ, Burke JR. Streptococcus pneumoniae-induced haemolytic uraemic syndrome. J Paediatr Child Health 1998;34:192-5. - PubMed
    1. Erickson LC, Smith WS, Biswas AK, Camarca MA, Waecker NJ Jr. Streptococcus pneumoniae-induced hemolytic uremic syndrome: A case for early diagnosis. Pediatr Nephrol 1994;8:211-3. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources