Lactococcus lactis cremoris intra-uterine infection: About an uncommon case report

When intra-uterine infection (IUI) is suspected or confirmed, intravenous antibiotic therapy providing coverage against common organisms (S. agalactiae and E. coli) is recommended to be administered immediately in order to reduce the risk of maternal and neonatal infectious complications. Nevertheless, it happens that some infections are due to uncommon microorganisms that do not respond to probabilistic treatment. Therefore, samples with bacteriological examination remain systematic. Moreover, the extraperitoneal cesarean section avoids the opening of the peritoneal cavity used in the Pfannenstiel technique and thus reduces the risk of infectious dissemination.

We hereby present the uncommon case of a 19-year-old primigravida woman who was referred to our facility for acute gastroenteritis at 34 weeks of gestation. The hospital course was complicated by premature rupture of the membranes followed by the development of fever, chills and deterioration of the fetal heart rate (FHR), imposing an urgent extraperitoneal cesarean section for suspected IUI with fetal impact. Bacteriological examination of a placental sample subsequently yielded growth of Lactococcus lactis cremoris which makes it to our knowledge the second case reported to date of an IUI due to this bacterium.

IUI predominantly occurs by ascending bacterial invasion from the lower genital tract to the typically sterile amniotic cavity in the setting of membrane rupture. Extraperitoneal cesarean section serves as a viable alternative to classic transperitoneal delivery in the presence of uterine infection by controlling bacterial spread. Our case serves as a reminder that IUI can arise from multiple pathogens, including Lactococcus lactis cremoris which is known as a harmless bacterium.