CASE REPORT   

Gazzetta Medica Italiana - Archivio per le Scienze Mediche 2019 June;178(6):469-73

DOI: 10.23736/S0393-3660.18.03844-5

Copyright © 2018 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Unpredictable implications of a common gastroenteritis

Lorenzo GAVINO ¹ ✉, Cinzia ZEHNDER ², Stefania BIGI ¹, Chiara FRAULINI ¹, Peter MATTHIAS ¹

¹ Emergency Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Santa Chiara Clinic, Locarno, Switzerland; ² Microbiology Laboratory, Synlab Suisse SA, Savosa, Switzerland

A 49-year-old man in good health presented at the emergency room with the signs and symptoms of a common gastroenteritis and for that was threated, while, after few hours he had a quickly worsening to death due to a septic shock and a disseminated intravascular coagulation by a not so common bacterial, the Capnocythophaga canimorsus, and even if he had not referred about the common risk factors for that infection. This case report wants to underline the importance of actively search hidden risk factors for this uncommon zoonosis even in patients initially with only mild symptoms.

KEY WORDS: Shock, septic; Zoonoses; Infectious disease medicine; Critical care