Buxmann H, Soerensen J, Koehl U, Schwabe D, Klingebiel T, Reinert R R, Schaefer V
Dept. of Neonatology, Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Children's Hospital, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.
Infection. 2003 Dec;31(6):425-7. doi: 10.1007/s15010-003-3134-1.
The incidence of infection with penicillin-non-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae is increasing rapidly worldwide. Spain and France are highly affected, whereas the level of penicillin resistance in Germany, Italy, The Netherlands and Scandinavia is low. We report a lethal episode of meningitis due to penicillin- and cefotaxime-intermediate S. pneumoniae in a 7-year-old, allogene bone marrow transplanted German boy, 5 weeks after a holiday in Spain. Three days prior to the infection the patient showed good performance status. He was in complete remission without signs of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). He died on day 341 post bone marrow transplant (BMT), 2 days after the onset of meningitis. Penicillin-non-susceptible S. pneumoniae should be regarded as a potential infectious agent even in countries with a low prevalence of resistance.
