Ecthyma Gangrenosum: or ?

Ecthyma gangrenosum (EG) are necrotic lesions that develop in the context of bacteremia. Isolated reports describe EG in the setting of non-Pseudomonal infections. In a patient with EG, initial blood cultures showed , and almost occulted bacteremia. Based on the clinical picture we suspected preponderant bacteremia, outgrown by concomitant low-grade bacteremia in the blood culture vials. : We performed quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays with specific primers for and on blood collected at the same time for blood cultures. We also performed quantitative cultures of the strains isolated from the patient's blood. : Quantitative PCR showed that there were 1.5 × 107 copies/milliliter (ml) of DNA, whereas the quantity of DNA was below the detection limit of 2 × 104 copies/ml. We estimated that there was at least 1000 times more than . Quantitative cultures showed that grew faster than . : Our patient with EG had preponderant bacteremia, that was almost occulted by concomitant low-grade bacteremia. Quantitative PCR was complementary to blood cultures in the final microbiological diagnosis, and proved beneficial in establishing the etiology of EG. This may question the existence of non-Pseudomonal EG, and also shows that blood culture results do not always reflect an "exact picture" of what happens in the patient's blood at the time of sampling. This case illustrates the importance of communication between the clinician and the microbiology laboratory to ensure best possible results.