Bacteremia by Leuconostoc mesenteroides in an immunocompetent patient with chronic Chagas disease: a case report

A 67-year-old female patient with chagasic megaesophagus and megacolon was submitted to a Heller myotomy for achalasia in 2000 and endoscopic dilatation in 2015. Patient was admitted to the Nutrology Ward in May 2016 with protein-calorie malnutrition associated with achalasia and receiving enteral nutrition. In July 2016, the patient underwent a Serra-Doria surgery. In the third postoperative day she presented an important abdominal distension. She was submitted to a new surgical intervention, and then a terminal ileum perforation was detected, leading the surgeon to perform an enterectomy with side-to-side anastomosis. The next day after the surgery (4th postoperative day) the patient presented a decreased level of consciousness (Glasgow coma scale = 8), hypotension and hypoxemia. In two samples of blood cultures there was growth of Leuconostoc mesenteroides. Susceptibility pattern was evaluated by the diffusion disk method. The microorganism was susceptible to penicillin, ampicillin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, and fluoroquinolones, but resistant to rifampin, tetracycline, vancomycin and teicoplanin.

We concluded that infections caused by L. mesenteroides is serious and should be considered not only in settings of immunosuppression and prolonged antimicrobial use, but also in immunocompetent patients undergoing surgeries involving the gastrointestinal tract.