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Updated: May 5, 2026

Visualization of Streptococcus pneumoniae within Cardiac Microlesions and Subsequent Cardiac Remodeling
Published on: April 7, 2015
Purulent pericarditis and pneumonia caused by Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus
Jürgen Held1, Roland Schmitz2, Mark van der Linden3
1Institute of Medical Microbiology and Hygiene, University Medical Centre Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
Abstract:
Purulent pericarditis is a life-threatening disease that usually manifests following bacteraemia or through spreading from an intrathoracic focus. Only a few cases of this disease have been reported with Lancefield group C streptococci as aetiological agents, and the primary focus in these infections remains unknown. We report a case of purulent pericarditis with septic and cardiogenic shock, caused by Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (group C) in a 51-year-old patient. The pathogen was possibly contracted through contact with horses. Most probably, it caused initially pneumonia before spreading to the pericardium, either directly or via the bloodstream. A combined therapeutic approach, consisting of antibiotic therapy and repeated pericardial drainage, was necessary to ensure a clinical cure. After discharge, long-term follow-up for development of constrictive pericarditis is considered mandatory.
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