Fusobacterium Nucleatum Empyema: An Atypical Presentation

Authors

• Lucía Barrera López Department of Internal Medicine, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
• Cristina Macía-Rodríguez Department of Internal Medicine, POVISA Hospital, Vigo, Spain
• Lucía Ferreiro-Fernández Department of Pulmonology, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
• José Antonio Díaz-Peromingo Department of Internal Medicine, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario de Santiago de Compostela, Santiago de Compostela, Spain

luciablopez@gmail.com

Keywords

Abstract

A 40-year-old man presented to the emergency room and was evaluated in the internal medicine department for unexplained weight loss, asthenia, anorexia and night sweats over the previous 2 months. After a loculated pleural effusion was identified on thoracic computed tomography, purulent fluid was drained from the lung and Fusobacterium nucleatum was isolated. The patient was successfully treated for 27 days with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid. This was an atypical presentation of a common micro-organism implicated in lung infections.