Abstract | March 15, 2023

A Case Report of Catfish Induced Bacteremia

Authors: Victor Camba, D.O, M.Ed, M.S

Co-authors: Victor Camba, DO, Internal Medicine, PGY2, MRHC, Corinth, MS; Erin Nichols, DO, Internal Medicine, PGY2, MRHC, Corinth, MS; Michael Coty Maddox, DO, Internal Medicine, PGY1, MRHC, Corinth, MS; Besseri Ako, MD, Internal Medicine, PGY3, MRHC, Corinth, MS; Kyle Ulrich, DO, Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, MRHC, Corinth, MS

Learning Objectives

  1. Upon completion of this lecture, learners should be better prepared to utilize a systematic approach when a patient presents with septic shock with an unknown past medical history.

Edwardsiella tarda (E. tarda) is a member of the Enterobacteriaceae family and has recently become recognized as pathogenic, particularly in patients with an underlying illness. Main infections associated with this species include bacterial gastroenteritis, wound infections such as cellulitis or gas gangrene associated with trauma to mucosal surfaces, and systemic diseases such as septicemia, meningitis, cholecystitis, and osteomyelitis.

Case description: In this case, the Patient is a 60-year-old African-American male with a past medical history of alcohol abuse and daily smoker presented to the ED with a chief complaint of right upper extremity swelling for the past two days. Patient reports that he was fishing, and got stung between his index finger and middle finger on his right hand by a catfish. Patient reports that it was painful initially, then it became more painful and swollen until he came into the ED. Patient was difficult to understand as he was lethargic; however, he stated that he felt well besides his swollen arm. Upon arrival to the Emergency Department, he was lethargic, coded, and expired within hours of admission. Patient blood cultures came back positive for E. tarda.

Conclusion: This case report illustrates the importance of a systematic approach to a patient presenting with a relatively unknown past medical history along with an unusual strain of bacteria. The Evaluation and management of suspected sepsis and septic shock are critical in reducing mortality.

 

References

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  3. Singer M, Deutschman CS, Seymour CW, et al. The Third International Consensus Definitions for Sepsis and Septic Shock (Sepsis-3). JAMA 2016; 315:801.
  4. Xu, Tingting & Zhang, Xiao-Hua. (2014). Edwardsiella tarda: An intriguing problem in aquaculture. Aquaculture. 431. 129-135. 10.1016/j.aquaculture.2013.12.001. 5. Standl T, Annecke T, Cascorbi I, Heller AR, Sabashnikov A, Teske W. The Nomenclature, Definition and Distinction of Types of Shock. Dtsch Arztebl Int. 2018 Nov 9;115(45):757-768. doi: 10.3238/arztebl.2018.0757. PMID: 30573009; PMCID: PMC6323133.
  5. Tyler Vanscoy, John G. Lundberg, Kyle R. Luckenbill “Bony ornamentation of the catfish pectoral-fin spine: comparative and developmental anatomy, with an example of fin-spine diversity using the Tribe Brachyplatystomini (Siluriformes, Pimelodidae),” Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, 164(1), 177-212, (11 August 2015)



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