https://doi.org/10.4081/mm.2024.12419

A fatal rhabdomyolysis with the presence of Bacillus cereus on blood culture: description of a clinical case

Vol. 39 No. 1 (2024)
Submitted: 23 February 2024
Accepted: 2 April 2024
Published: 27 May 2024
Bacillus cereus, infection, rhabdomyolysis, virulence factors
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Authors

Lara Scoppapietra
https://orcid.org/0009-0007-3000-0086
S.C. Laboratorio Analisi Unificato Rivoli-Pinerolo ASL TO3, Rivoli (TO), Italy.
Alessio Audino
S.C. Laboratorio Analisi Unificato Rivoli-Pinerolo ASL TO3, Rivoli (TO), Italy.
Guido Ricciardelli
S.C. Laboratorio Analisi Unificato Rivoli-Pinerolo ASL TO3, Rivoli (TO), Italy.
Giuseppina Amarù
S.C. Laboratorio Analisi Unificato Rivoli-Pinerolo ASL TO3, Rivoli (TO), Italy.
Maura Millesimo
S.C. Laboratorio Analisi Unificato Rivoli-Pinerolo ASL TO3, Rivoli (TO), Italy.
Cristina Crocillà
S.C. Laboratorio Analisi Unificato Rivoli-Pinerolo ASL TO3, Rivoli (TO), Italy.
Valentino Granero
giantinox@libero.it
https://orcid.org/0009-0003-7596-6168
S.C. Banca del Sangue e Immunoematologia, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Italy.

Bacillus cereus is a Gram-positive bacterium that is ubiquitously present. It is often involved in gastrointestinal infections and food poisoning, but it can rarely cause serious non-gastrointestinal tract infections, particularly in immunocompromised individuals. The pathogenicity of B. cereus is predominantly derived from the production of tissue-destructive exoenzymes, including hemolysins, phospholipases, and proteases. Here, we present a case of bacteremia due to B. cereus in an elderly patient, admitted to the emergency room for respiratory failure and rhabdomyolysis after a fall. The microorganism was detected through blood culture and identified using the MALDI-TOF technique. Despite the rapid start of antibiotic therapy, laboratory data have highlighted how this bacterium, through its virulence factors, can be lethal in the case of rhabdomyolysis, worsening the inflammatory response and subverting the host-microorganism relationship in its favor.

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How to Cite

Scoppapietra, L., Audino, A., Ricciardelli, G., Amarù, G., Millesimo, M., Crocillà, C., & Granero, V. (2024). A fatal rhabdomyolysis with the presence of <i>Bacillus cereus</i> on blood culture: description of a clinical case. Microbiologia Medica, 39(1). https://doi.org/10.4081/mm.2024.12419
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