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Review
. 2024 Feb 20;24(1):225.
doi: 10.1186/s12879-024-09078-6.

Fusobacterium nucleatum bacteremia complicated with intracranial Porphyromonas gingivalis and HSV-1 infection: a case report and literature review

Sumei Wang #  1 , Yaqiong Tian #  1 , Yujing Wu #  1 , Zhen Yu  1 , Jinjuan Zhang  2 , Jiandong Zhang  3 , Shuye Liu  1
Affiliations
Review

Fusobacterium nucleatum bacteremia complicated with intracranial Porphyromonas gingivalis and HSV-1 infection: a case report and literature review

Sumei Wang et al. BMC Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Fusobacterium nucleatum (F. nucleatum) belongs to the genus Fusobacterium, which is a gram-negative obligate anaerobic bacterium. Bacteremia associated with F. nucleatum is a serious complication, which is not common in clinic, especially when it is combined with other intracranial pathogenic microorganism infection. We reported for the first time a case of F. nucleatum bacteremia combined with intracranial Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) and herpes simplex virus type 1(HSV-1) infection.

Case presentation: A 60-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital with a headache for a week that worsened for 2 days. Combined with history, physical signs and examination, it was characterized as ischemic cerebrovascular disease (ICVD). F. nucleatum was detected in blood by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-offight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). Meanwhile, P. gingivalis and HSV-1 in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were identified by metagenome next generation sequencing (mNGS). After a quick diagnosis and a combination of antibiotics and antiviral treatment, the patient recovered and was discharged.

Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report of intracranial P. gingivalis and HSV-1 infection combined with F. nucleatum bacteremia.

Keywords: Fusobacterium nucleatum; HSV-1; Infection; Porphyromonas gingivalis.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A: Growth of F. nucleatum on blood agar plates after 24 h of incubation. B: Gram-staining of F. nucleatum
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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