Catalase-negative, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus as a cause of septicemia

A catalase-negative methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was isolated from blood, venous catheter spike and bone marrow collected from an HIV-positive man with lobar pneumonia and sepsis after ten days of hospitalization. The isolate was resistant to oxacillin (positive for penicillin-binding protein 2'), ceftriaxone, clindamycin and clarithromycin, and susceptible to vancomycin. This is the first case of septicemia due to a catalase-negative S. aureus reported in Brazil, and, to our knowledge, it is the first case of catalase-negative MRSA reported in the literature. We believe that the patient acquired the S. aureus infection within the hospital environment since it was isolated ten days after hospitalization, it was isolated in a venous catheter spike, and the antibiotic resistance profile is similar to other S. aureus isolates recovered from infections in our hospital

Fatal group a streptococcal toxic shock-like syndrome in a child with varicella: report of the first well documented case with detection of the genetic sequences that code for exotoxins SPE A and B, in Sao Paulo, Brazil

Crianca de sete anos, previamente higida, foi admitida na unidade de terapia intensiva por quadro de toxemia associado a varicela. Evoluiu rapidamente para choque e insuficiencia de multiplos orgaos e sistemas e, apesar do tratamento intensivo, morreu no quarto dia apos a admissao. A cultura de secrecao colhida por puncao profunda de partes moles em regiao toracica foi positiva para Streptococcus pyogenes, proteina-M nao tipavel e carreador dos genes codificadores da producao de exotoxinas pirogenicas estreptococicas A e B, preenchendo os criterios para definicao de Sindrome do choque toxico estreptococico. Os autores discutem aspectos clinicos e fisiopatologicos desta sindrome, bem como alguns aspectos incomuns relacionados a este caso