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Case Reports
. 2019 Mar 8;19(1):238.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-019-3863-0.

Severe infections due to Francisella tularensis ssp. holarctica in solid organ transplant recipient: report of two cases and review of literature

Olivier Bahuaud  1   2 , Cécile Le Brun  3 , Thomas Chalopin  1   2 , Marion Lacasse  1   2 , Julien Le Marec  1   2 , Clémence Pantaleon  4 , Charlotte Nicolas  5 , Louise Barbier  2   6 , Louis Bernard  1   2 , Adrien Lemaignen  7   8
Affiliations
Case Reports

Severe infections due to Francisella tularensis ssp. holarctica in solid organ transplant recipient: report of two cases and review of literature

Olivier Bahuaud et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Tularemia is a rare zoonotic infection caused by bacterium Francisella tularensis. It has been well described in immunocompetent patients but poorly described in immunocompromised patients notably in solid organ transplant recipients.

Case presentations: We report here two cases of tularemia in solid organ transplant recipients including first case after heart transplant. We also carried out an exhaustive review of literature describing characteristics of this infection in solid organ transplant recipients.

Keywords: Francisella tularensis; Molecular diagnosis; Pneumonia; Prevention; Solid organ transplant.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Not applicable.

Consent for publication

Written informed consent was obtained from the patients for publication of this manuscript and any accompanying images. The consent form is held by the authors’ institution and is available for review.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Celio-mesenteric adenopathy in systemic form of tularemia shown on MRI and histological slides. a Celio-mesenteric adenopathies on MRI. b, c and d nodular abcedal lymphadenitis on a celiac lymphadenopathy. HES coloration
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Thoracic imaging showing pulmonary lesions in systemic form of tularemia in a solid organ transplant recipient. a Thoracic X-ray showing bilateral alveolar and interstitial opacities during an acute respiratory distress syndrome (Case 2). b PET-scan (FDG-F18) showing pulmonary hyperfixations (left inferior lobe) and hypermetabolic mediastinal adenopathies (Case 1)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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