Abstract
Corynebacterium diphtheriae usually produces an infection limited to the respiratory tract and the organisms rarely invade the blood stream. We report the case of a 6-year-old girl who, 2 months after an unsuccessful repair of a ventricular septal defect, developed septicaemia with nontoxigenic C. diphtheriae. The organism appeared resistant to penicillin in vitro and failed to respond to a course of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole to which it was susceptible in the laboratory. A cure was finally achieved using cephalothin and gentamicin, followed by an additional course of ampicillin and amoxicillin. Twelve previously recorded cases of diphtheritic sepsis and endocarditis are reviewed.
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Abbreviations
- VSD:
-
ventricular-septal defect
- TMS:
-
trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole
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Sirinavin, S., Suthas-Na-Aynthaya, P. Diphtheritic septicaemia and probable endocarditis: A case report and review of the literature. Eur J Pediatr 144, 395–398 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00441786
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00441786