Capnocytophaga sputigena Bacteremia in an Immunocompromised Child, When to Suspect? A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Background Within febrile neutropenic episodes, bacteremia is the most frequent cause. Capnocytophaga species bacteremia represents less than 3% of all etiologies, being an uncommon agent. Only a few pediatric cases have been reported in the literature. Case Presentation A 6-year-old male patient was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and a bone marrow relapse. He was admitted to our institution with an episode of febrile neutropenia with grade II mucositis. A nonhemolytic gram-negative rod was isolated from a blood culture, with gray colonies in blood agar at 48 hours of incubation. Capnocytophaga sputigena was identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization and time of flight. The patient was successfully treated with imipenem-cilastatin for 10 days. Conclusions Although this pathogen is uncommon, Capnocytophaga species bacteremia should be suspected as a causal agent in immunocompromised patients, particularly in cases of febrile neutropenia with oral cavity involvement.