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Review
. 2021 Jan 6;21(1):15.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-020-05702-3.

Klebsiella pneumoniae-related invasive liver abscess syndrome complicated by purulent meningitis: a review of the literature and description of three cases

Ruixue Sun  1 , Hui Zhang  2 , Yingchun Xu  2 , Huadong Zhu  1 , Xuezhong Yu  1 , Jun Xu  3
Affiliations
Review

Klebsiella pneumoniae-related invasive liver abscess syndrome complicated by purulent meningitis: a review of the literature and description of three cases

Ruixue Sun et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) invasive liver abscess syndrome (ILAS) with purulent meningitis was rarely identified the mainland of China. Last winter, we received 3 cases of K. pneumoniae meningitis and all of them died in a short time. We report these cases in order to find the reason of high mortality and discuss effective effort to improve these patients' prognosis.

Case presentation: Three patients with uncontrolled diabetes developed live abscess and purulent meningitis. Upon admission, the clinical manifestations, laboratory result of blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and imaging examinations were compatible with K. pneumoniae ILAS which had metastasis infection of meningitis. Even with timely adequate antibiotic therapy and strict glycemic control, all of the patients' condition deteriorated rapidly and died in a short time.

Conclusion: The reason of patients' poor prognosis might be the absence of liver abscess drainage, high level of CSF protein which indicates severe inflammation and unknown special but stronger virulence factors of K. pneumoniae the patients' living place Zhangjiakou. Strict glycemic control, early drainage of liver abscess and appropriate antibiotic application are recommended for treating this condition, further progress on the pathogenesis and treatment of K. pneumoniae meningitis may help patients gain a better prognosis.

Keywords: Case report; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Liver abscess; Meningitis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
a: Head CT scan showed diffuse cerebral edema; b: Abdominal CT scan demonstrating an area of abnormal attenuation measuring 24 mm × 19 mm in the right lobe of the liver, suggestive of a single abscess
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
a and b: head CT scan showed bilateral basal ganglia hemorrhages and a subarachnoid hemorrhage; c: Abdominal CT scan demonstrating an area of abnormal attenuation measuring 18 mm × 14 mm in the right lobe of the liver
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Abdominal CT scan demonstrating an area of abnormal attenuation measuring 25 mm × 19 mm in the right lobe of the liver
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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