Aeromonas wound infection in a healthy boy, and wound healing with polarized light

Abstract

Introduction. At emergency departments, history taking is often very brief. We present a case of an Aeromonas wound infection, that illustrates the importance of careful history taking. We also report the first successful use of polarized light as additional therapy for healing of this infectious wound. Case presentation. A healthy boy was diagnosed with a wound infection, after a fall onto rocks. At first, it remained unmentioned that there had been contact with ditchwater, so he was treated with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. Only after the finding of an Aeromonas strain in the wound culture, and treatment with a fluoroquinolone, did he recover. Wound healing was aided with the use of polarized light, and with good effect. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the effect of polarized light on the healing of infectious wounds. Conclusion. Careful history taking is essential for adequate empiric therapy when faced with wounds and wound infections. Aeromonas infections are associated with water exposure, and should be treated with fluoroquinolones. Polarized light seems to have a good result on healing of infectious wounds.

Keywords: aeromonas; polarized light; wound infection.

Fig. 1.

Results of bone scintigraphy, with (a) normal nucleotide signal distribution excluding osteomyelitis and septic arthritis, and (b) increased blood flow in the cranial part of the left lower leg with global swelling, indicating an important soft tissue inflammation.

Fig. 2.

Pictures of the left lower leg, showing evolution over time. The pen marks on day 7 (indicated with arrows) show the line where redness had been at its maximum. On day 8, Bioptron lamp therapy was started, with afterwards a good granulation of the wound, starting at the edges. On day 26, a satisfying closure of the wound was achieved and Bioptron lamp treatment was stopped.