Surgical wound infection, tuboovarian abscess, and sepsis caused by Edwardsiella tarda: case reports and literature review

Abstract

Edwardsiella tarda is a freshwater pathogen that may cause mild to invasive infections with high mortality in humans. We describe two patients with serious E. tarda infections. The first patient was a woman with a tuboovarian abscess (TOA) and bilateral salpingitis requiring surgical resection and drainage. Her hospital course was complicated by a postoperative wound infection. TOA fluid as well as surgical wound culture revealed pure growth of E. tarda resistant to several antibiotics. The second patient was a man with a bloodstream E. tarda infection and cholangitis who recently traveled to Ecuador. He presented with hypoxia and further workup revealed choledocholithiasis and common bile duct benign polyps. Both patients made a full recovery.