The Association of Streptococcus gallolyticus Subspecies

Case ReportThe Association of Streptococcus gallolyticus Subspeciespasteurianus Bacteremia with the Detection of Premalignantand Malignant Colonic Lesions

Gaurav Chand,1 Leonid Shamban,2 Adam Forman,3 and Prabhat Sinha4

1Department of Internal Medicine, Providence Hospital and Medical Center, 16001 W. Nine Mile Road, Southfield, MI 48075, USA2Department of Gastroenterology, Genesys Regional Medical Center, One Genesys Parkway, Grand Blanc, MI 48439, USA3Department of Hematology and Oncology, Providence Hospital and Medical Center, 16001 W. Nile Mile Road, Southfield,MI 48075, USA4Department of Pulmonology and Critical Care, Providence Hospital and Medical Center, 16001 W. Nine Mile Road,Southfield, MI 48075, USA

Correspondence should be addressed to Gaurav Chand; [email protected]

Received 8 May 2016; Accepted 11 July 2016

Academic Editor: Daniel C. Damin

Copyright © 2016 Gaurav Chand et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License,which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Streptococcus gallolyticus subspecies (subsp.) gallolyticus (formerly bovis biotype I) bacteremia has been associated with colonicadenocarcinoma. The bovis species underwent reclassification in 2003. Subtypes of gallolyticus are associated with colonicmalignancy but are less frequent, resulting in less awareness. A 71-year-old male admitted with worsening lower back pain andfevers. Initial vital signs and laboratory datawerewithin normal limits.MRI revealed lumbosacral osteomyelitis and antibiotics wereinitiated. Blood cultures showed Streptococcus species, prompting a transesophageal echocardiogram (TEE) revealing vegetationson themitral and aortic valves.The etiology for his endocarditis was unclear. A colonoscopywas suggested, but his clinical instabilitymade such a procedure intolerable. Final cultures revealed Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus (previously bovis biotypeII). After antibiotic completion he underwent aortic grafting with valve replacements. Later, he was readmitted for Streptococcusbacteremia. After a negative TEE, colonoscopy revealed a 2.5 × 3 cm cecal tubulovillous adenoma with high-grade dysplasiasuspicious for his origin of infection. Clinicians understand the link between Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus (bovistype I) and malignancy, but the new speciation may be unfamiliar. There are no guidelines for managing S. gallolyticus subsp.pasteurianus bacteremia; therefore a colonoscopy should be considered when no source is identified.

1. Introduction

Streptococcus bovis biotype I bacteremia has been longassociated with infective endocarditis due to an underlyingcolonicmalignancy since its first documented case in 1951 [1].Previous reports have suggested that Streptococcus bovis typeI bacteremia has been implicated with concomitant colonictumors in 25 to 80% of patients [1], as well as the presence ofpremalignant colonic lesions [2–4]. In the late 1990s and early2000s, the Streptococcus bovis species underwent significanttaxonomic changes that resulted in the renaming of S. bovisbiotype I as Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus, bio-type II/1 as S. lutetiensis (i.e., S. infantarius subsp. infantarius),

and biotype II/2 as S. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus [3, 4].Multiple reports show that Streptococcus gallolyticus subtypesare also associated with colonic malignancy; however, theyare less frequent compared to Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp.gallolyticus [5, 6]. Years later, many clinicians continue tobe unfamiliar with the new speciation [7]. Therefore, theseorganism findings in clinical practice must be highlighted tomake clinicians more comfortable with their management.Herein, we report a rarely associated entity of S. gallolyticussubsp. pasteurianus bacteremia and infective endocarditiswith subsequent detection of a tubulovillous adenoma withhigh-grade dysplasia.

Hindawi Publishing CorporationCase Reports in Gastrointestinal MedicineVolume 2016, Article ID 7815843, 4 pageshttp://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/7815843

2 Case Reports in Gastrointestinal Medicine

2. Case Report

A 70-year-old Caucasian male presented to the hospital withcomplaints of progressively worsening low back pain radi-ating into his bilateral hips ongoing for the past six weeks.Initially, the patient saw a physician in the outpatient settingwho evaluated his back pain with a magnetic resonanceimaging test (MRI) that revealed degenerative disc disease atthe L5-S1level.Hewas prompted to come to the hospital as his

pain significantly worsened over the past ten days resultingin the inability to ambulate. He denied any symptoms ofneurological impairment. Additionally, he was noted to beexperiencing fevers and chills for the past few weeks, whichhe attributed to his history of chronic prostatitis.

His past medical history is remarkable for hypertension,hyperlipidemia, chronic prostatitis, and benign prostatichypertrophy. The patient is retired from the automotivebusiness, lives with his wife, and reported no use of tobacco,alcohol, or illicit drugs. He reported no recent travel. Hisinitial vital signs yielded a blood pressure of 118/74mmHg,heart rate of 135 beats per minute, respiratory rate of 17breaths per minute, temperature of 98.5∘ Fahrenheit (F), andan oxygen saturation of 96 percent on roomair. Physical examrevealed a well-nourished male, who was alert and orientedto person, place, time, and situation. Cranial nerves II–XIIwere grossly intact bilaterally with +5/5 gross bilateral upperextremity strength and +4/5 gross bilateral lower extremitystrength. Sensation to noxious and tactile stimuli was intact.Deep tendon reflexes were equal and +1/4 in bilateral lowerextremities. The patient experienced significant back painduring the examination, while the rest of his physical examwas unremarkable including his cardiac exam.

Complete blood count results included a white blood cellcount, 11.2 K/𝜇L; hemoglobin, 13.1 g/dL; hematocrit, 38.7%;and platelets, 144K/𝜇L. Chemistry panel showed sodium,133mmol/L; potassium, 4.1mmol/L; chloride, 98mmol/L;CO2, 24mmol/L; blood urea nitrogen, 22mg/dL; and crea-

tinine, 0.9mg/dL. An initial computed tomography scan (CTscan) without contrast of the abdomen and pelvis showednonobstructing renal stones, and amagnetic resonance imag-ing study (MRI) of the lumbosacral spine showed changesconsistent with L

3-L4and L5-S1osteomyelitis. Blood cultures

were drawn, and the patient was admitted with the diagnosisof lumbosacral osteomyelitis. He was started on broad-spectrum antibiotics. The following day, preliminary bloodcultures revealed beta-hemolytic Streptococcus bacteremia intwo out of two sets, and antibiotics were adjusted to intra-venous vancomycin and gentamycin.

During the hospital course, the patient continued to com-plain of weakness, fatigue, and some chest discomfort despiteintravenous antibiotic therapy. A transthoracic echocardio-gram exhibited vegetations onmitral and aortic valves,mildlydilated aorta, and a moderate-sized mass on the noncoro-nary cusp measuring 1.2 by 1.0 centimeters with preservedejection fraction.These findings prompted a transesophagealechocardiogram that revealed an aortic wall abscess with amobile tip and vegetations over themitral valve accompaniedby severemitral valve regurgitation and aortic valve incompe-tence. Final blood cultures were consistent with Streptococcus

Figure 1: Colonoscopy. Colonoscopy findings revealing a 2.5 ×1.0 cm cecal mass.

gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus, and antibiotic therapy wastailored to intravenous ceftriaxone and gentamycin. Due tothis discovery, a concern for a colonic etiology arose, as thisspecies is a variant of the previous Streptococcus bovis species.However, these results could not be further investigated duethe patient’s clinical status.

The patient developed problems with his neck mobilitythat prompted a CT scan that revealed cervical spine discitisat C5-C6level, which was later confirmed by MRI. Sub-

sequently, the patient underwent three operations over thecourse of the next two weeks. Neurosurgery had operated onthe patient’s cervical and lumbosacral discitis in two separatesurgeries. Cardiothoracic surgery replaced the patient’smitraland aortic valves and placed an ascending aortic graft dueto an aneurysm. Following these surgical procedures andstabilization, the patient was discharged to a subacute reha-bilitation facility with a peripherally inserted central catheterfor twelve weeks of intravenous ceftriaxone infusion.

After undergoing months of rehabilitation, the patientwas readmitted five months from his initial presentationfor pyrexia of 100.4∘F. Blood cultures were obtained andrevealed two out of two sets consistent with gram posi-tive cocci in clusters resembling Streptococcus. The patientwas reevaluated for osteomyelitis and MRI of the cervical,thoracic, and lumbar spine revealed no acute infection.An endocarditis workup was also unremarkable. The finalreport for blood cultures showed Lactococcus garvieae, andan evaluation for a colonoscopy was undertaken, since therehave been few case reports relating colonic pathology asthe source of the bacteremia [8, 9]. The patient was advisedto have a colonoscopy in the outpatient setting after beingdischarged from the rehab center, but he did not comply.Colonoscopy revealed a 2.5 by 3.0 centimeter cecal mass(Figure 1), two sessile descending colonic polyps, and mildinternal hemorrhoids.

Final pathology yielded a tubulovillous adenoma in thececum (Figure 2) and hyperplastic polyps in the descendingcolon.

Case Reports in Gastrointestinal Medicine 3

Figure 2: Pathology slide. Pathology exhibiting a tubulovillousadenoma with high-grade dysplasia shown under H&E staining at40x magnification.

Table 1: Previous and current classifications of Streptococcus bovisand their respective associations with colorectal cancer (CRC).

Previousnomenclature Current nomenclature Association

with CRC

S. bovis biotype I S. gallolyticus subsp.gallolyticus ++++

S. bovis biotype II/1S. infantarius subsp.

infantarius ++

S. lutetiensis ++

S. bovis biotype II/2S. gallolyticus subsp.

pasteurianus +

S. gallolyticus subsp.macedonicus −

At this time, the patient was discharged with intravenousvancomycin for threeweeks. After completing antibiotic ther-apy, the patient underwent a right-sided hemicolectomy, andthe final surgical pathology showed a tubulovillous adenomawith high-grade dysplasia. Following stabilization during thepostoperative period, the patient was discharged in fair con-dition to a subacute rehabilitation facility.

3. Discussion

In the preceding case, our patient exhibited profound recur-rent systemic bacteremia that was eventually attributed to acolonic source. Many clinicians understand the link betweenStreptococcus gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus (bovis type I) andmalignancy, but the new speciation may be unfamiliar topractitioners. S. gallolyticus subsp. gallolyticus has a muchgreater association than S. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianuswith colonic malignancies as is depicted in Table 1 [10].

In a literature review, the association of S. gallolyticussubsp. gallolyticus bacteremia was 94% and 71% with clinicalinfectious endocarditis and underlying colonic malignancy,respectively [11]. However, S. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianusbacteremia is less commonly associated with infective endo-carditis and occult colonic malignancy at rates of 18% and17%, respectively [11]. Regardless of the weaker associationof S. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus with underlying colonic

pathology, we strongly believe that patients exhibiting any S.bovis bacteremia (type I or II) should undergo a screeningcolonoscopy. It has also been noted in previous studies thatS. bovis is also associated with premalignant colonic lesions,which are often asymptomatic and undetectable by fecaloccult blood testing [12].

Interestingly, confounding in this case is the readmissionof bacteremiawith a different organism, Lactococcus garvieae.This organism has been associated in contact with raw fish[9]. However, in our case the origin was not known. It didprompt an inpatient colonoscopy evaluation.There have beenfew case reports that suggest gastrointestinal risk factorsin recent literature such as colonic diverticulosis, duodenalulcers, and colonic polyps, but the evidence is poor [8, 9]. Itis difficult to draw a conclusion that the patient’s Lactococcusgarvieae bacteremia was the result of the colonic pathology.However, there ismore literature to support that S. gallolyticussubsp. pasteurianus bacteremia warrants colonic evaluation.

As there are no guidelines for managing patients withS. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus bacteremia, a colonoscopyshould be considered as a part of the evaluation when nodefinitive source is identifiable. These premalignant lesionsmay progress to malignant colon cancers over the courseof years and addressing these lesions earlier in their clinicalcourse would prove beneficial to the patient in decreasingoverall morbidity and mortality. Early detection of prema-lignant and malignant colonic lesions saves lives, and thediscovery of such bacteremia should be investigated with ascreening colonoscopy.

Competing Interests

None of the authors report competing interests related to thiswork.

References

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[2] A. Kahveci, E. Ari, H. Arikan, M. Koc, S. Tuglular, andC. Ozener, “Streptococcus bovis bacteremia related to colonadenoma in a chronic hemodialysis patient,”Hemodialysis Inter-national, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 91–93, 2010.

[3] A. S. Abdulamir, R. R. Hafidh, L. K. Mahdi, T. Al-jeboori, andF. Abubaker, “Investigation into the controversial associationof Streptococcus gallolyticus with colorectal cancer and ade-noma,” BMC Cancer, vol. 9, article 403, 2009.

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4 Case Reports in Gastrointestinal Medicine

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[7] B. Romero, M.-I. Morosini, E. Loza et al., “Reidentificationof Streptococcus bovis isolates causing bacteremia according tothe new taxonomy criteria: still an issue?” Journal of ClinicalMicrobiology, vol. 49, no. 9, pp. 3228–3233, 2011.

[8] G. Russo, M. Iannetta, A. D’Abramo et al., “Lactococcus garvi-eae endocarditis in a patient with colonic diverticulosis: firstcase report in Italy and review of the literature,” New Microbio-logica, vol. 35, no. 4, pp. 495–501, 2012.

[9] V. Heras Canas, M. D. Perez Ramirez, F. Bermudez Jimenez etal., “Lactococcus garvieaeendocarditis in a native valve identi-fied by MALDI-TOF MS and PCR-based 16s rRNA in Spain: acase report,” NewMicrobes and New Infections, vol. 5, pp. 13–15,2015.

[10] A. A. Khan, Bacteria and Cancer, Springer, Dordrecht, TheNetherlands, 2012.

[11] N. Takamura, T. Kenzaka, K. Minami, and M. Matsumura,“Infective endocarditis caused by Streptococcus gallolyticus sub-species pasteurianus and colon cancer,” BMJ Case Reports, 2014.

[12] A. Boleij, R. M. J. Schaeps, and H. Tjalsma, “Associationbetween Streptococcus bovis and colon cancer,” Journal ofClinical Microbiology, vol. 47, no. 2, article 516, 2009.

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The Association of Streptococcus gallolyticus Subspecies