Liver Absceses and Septic Shock Due to Chromobacterium Violaceum Infection: Report of a Case

Abstract

Chromobacterium violaceum is a facultative anaerobic gram-negative rod that inhabits soil or stagnant water in tropical and subtropical regions. C.violaceum infection in humans is rare but usually fatal. The usual clinical course is a local cutaneous infection followed by severe septicemia and multiple visceral abscesses. Consequently, the prognosis is very poor if the diagnosis is delayed and the therapy is ineffective. This report describes the case of a 74-year-old male farmer who presented with persistent abdominal pain and his disease soon progressed to multiple liver abscesses and septic shock. Physicians should consider C.violaceum infection as a differential diagnosis in cases of sepsis, especially in the presence of a history of exposure to soil or stagnant water.