Title:Leptotrichia trevisanii: Case Report and Review of the Literature on
Patients with Leptotrichia trevisanii Bacteremia in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Volume: 23
Issue: 7
Author(s): Awad Chady*, Garrastegui-Mercado Emmanuel and Suresh Antony*
Affiliation:
- HCA Las Palmas/Del Sol Internal Medicine Program, El Paso, Texas, USA
- HCA Las Palmas/Del Sol Internal Medicine Program, El Paso, Texas, USA
Keywords:
Leptotrichia trevisanii, immunocompromised state, bacteremia, septic shock, leukemia, chemotherapy.
Abstract:
Background: Leptotrichia spp. are fastidious facultative anaerobic, pencil-shaped, gramnegative
rods that reside in the mouths, intestines, and female genital tracts of humans. Bacteremia and
septic shock have been rarely reported in the immunocompromised host. We report a case of L. trevisanii
bacteremia in a patient recently diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on chemotherapy.
Case Presentation: A 75-year-old male with a history of diabetes, chronic kidney disease, and coronary
artery disease status post-CABG presented with neutropenic fevers and signs of sepsis after the
initiation of chemotherapy. Blood cultures were ordered and extensive gene sequencing helped identify
Leptotrichia trevisanii as the causative pathogen. Subsequently, the patient was successfully treated
with empiric cefepime.
Discussion: Opportunistic pathogens are involved in a variety of diseases and have been isolated from
immunocompromised patients undergoing transplantation or in patients with comorbidities, like leukemia,
lymphoma, or neutropenia. L. trevisanii has been reported as a cause of bloodstream infections
in patients with hematologic malignancies receiving chemotherapy.
Conclusion: This case highlights the key role that Leptotrichia trevisanii plays in the introduction of
sepsis among immunocompromised patients, particularly with hematologic malignancies, like AML,
on chemotherapy.
