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Case Reports
. 2017 Dec;14(6):1025-1028.
doi: 10.1111/iwj.12752. Epub 2017 Apr 19.

A small 'lick' will sink a great ship: fulminant septicaemia after dog saliva wound treatment in an asplenic patient

Evi M Morandi  1 , Reinhard Pauzenberger  2 , Christoph Tasch  1 , Ulrich M Rieger  3 , Gerhard Pierer  1 , Gabriel Djedovic  1
Affiliations
Case Reports

A small 'lick' will sink a great ship: fulminant septicaemia after dog saliva wound treatment in an asplenic patient

Evi M Morandi et al. Int Wound J. 2017 Dec.

Abstract

Capnocytophaga canimorsus is a bacterium transmitted through the saliva of dogs. An infection can cause severe sepsis with acral necrosis and is potentially fatal. Here, we report the case of a 41-year-old man who was infected through a wound that was licked by his dog. He went into septic shock with disseminated intravascular coagulation and subsequently lost both lower legs, his nose and all the fingers on both hands.

Keywords: Capnocytophaga canimorsus; Dog; Gangrene; Immunosuppression; Saliva; Sepsis.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Initial presentation of the patient to our department in acute septic shock. During intensive care stay, the patient developed acral necrosis and critical ischaemia of all four extremities and the face, especially the nose.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Follow‐up after 3 months with complete wound healing after below‐knee amputations of both legs and finger amputations at different levels and after subsequent wound closures by flaps or by split‐thickness skin grafts.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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