Legier J F
Department of Pathology, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk.
South Med J. 1991 Aug;84(8):1058-9. doi: 10.1097/00007611-199108000-00031.
Streptococcus salivarius caused fulminant meningitis in an elderly patient. A gastrointestinal diagnostic workup revealed an asymptomatic colonic adenocarcinoma. This first reported instance of S salivarius sepsis associated with a colonic neoplasm is not unexpected, since the organism is bacteriologically similar to S bovis, the prime bacterial indicator of occult malignancy. Exact speciation of streptococcal strains is fraught with technical difficulties, and gastrointestinal investigation may be warranted in an expanded variety of streptococcal infections.
