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Case Report
1 Attending physician, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei City, Anhui Province, China
2 Associate chief physician, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei City, Anhui Province, China
3 Chief physician, Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei City, Anhui Province, China
Address correspondence to:
Kai Wang
Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei City, Anhui Province,
China
Message to Corresponding Author
Article ID: 101305Z01YH2022
Introduction: The aim of this study is to report a fatal case of Listeria monocytogenes septicemia and meningitis complicating azathioprine and glucocorticosteroid treatments during an acute flare of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorder (NMOSD).
Case Report: A Chinese woman who was diagnosed with NMOSD had been on oral prednisolone and azathioprine for about three years. After her fourth relapse, she was treated with high-dose glucocorticosteroids again, and she soon developed an impaired consciousness, headache, and neck stiffness. Her blood culture was positive for L. monocytogenes, and a head computed tomography showed severe hydrocephalus. Although shunt surgery was performed and antibiotics were used, the patient continued to decline and eventually died.
Conclusion: We reported the first Asian case of azathioprine-associated L. monocytogenes septicemia in a patient with NMOSD. Physicians should be aware of this serious and potentially lethal side effect when adding multiple immunosuppressants to the regimen of a patient who is already immunocompromised.
Keywords: Azathioprine, Listeria monocytogenes, Meningitis, Neuromyelitis optica
Ying Hu - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Acquisition of data, Analysis of data, Drafting the work, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Ling Wei - Conception of the work, Design of the work, Acquisition of data, Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Xingui Chen - Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Yubao Jiang - Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Chengjuan Xie - Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Kai Wang - Revising the work critically for important intellectual content, Final approval of the version to be published, Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Guarantor of SubmissionThe corresponding author is the guarantor of submission.
Source of SupportNone
Consent StatementWritten informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this article.
Data AvailabilityAll relevant data are within the paper and its Supporting Information files.
Conflict of InterestAuthors declare no conflict of interest.
Copyright© 2022 Ying Hu et al. This article is distributed under the terms of Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium provided the original author(s) and original publisher are properly credited. Please see the copyright policy on the journal website for more information.