Meningoencephalitis caused by Lactobacillus plantarum - case report

Abstract

Specific strains of Lactobacillus spp. are widely used as probiotic agents but it has been repeatedly reported that may have a pathogenic potential. We present the report on a case of meningoencephalitis caused by Lactobacillus plantarum in a 63-year-old man with newly diagnosed metastatic planoepitheliale lung cancer. The patient was hospitalised due to newly diagnosed cancer and during the course of hospitalisation developed symptoms of neuroinfection. On the basis of the symptoms and results of the conducted tests the patient was diagnosed with bacterial meningoencephalitis. In microbiological tests of the blood and cerebrospinal fluid L. plantarum was cultured. During the course of antibiotic therapy the patient's condition improved. Lactobacilli are now recognised as a causative agent of infection, most notably bacteraemia. To our knowledge, this is the fourth documented case of Lactobacillus-associated neuroinfection, and only the second in an adult. Lactobacilli cause mostly opportunistic infections in immunocompromised individuals.

Keywords: bacteraemia; immunocompromised; meningoencephalitis.