Diagnostics (Jan 2022)

Second Trimester Fetal Loss Due to <i>Citrobacter koseri</i> Infection: A Rare Cause of Preterm Premature Rupture of Membranes (PPROM)

  • Maria Paola Bonasoni,
  • Giuseppina Comitini,
  • Mariangela Pati,
  • Giuseppe Russello,
  • Loredana Vizzini,
  • Marcellino Bardaro,
  • Pietro Pini,
  • Roberta Marrollo,
  • Andrea Palicelli,
  • Giulia Dalla Dea,
  • Edoardo Carretto

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics12010159
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1
p. 159

Abstract

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Citrobacter koseri is a facultative anaerobic, motile, non-spore-forming Gram-negative bacillus, which belongs to the family of Enterobacteriaceae. Severe infections due to Citrobacter spp. have been reported in the urinary tract, respiratory airways, intra-abdominal organs, skin and soft tissue, eye, bone, bloodstream, and central nervous system. In newborns, C. koseri is a well-known cause of meningitis, cerebral abscesses, brain adhesions, encephalitis, and pneumocephalus. Infection can be acquired through vertical maternal transmission or horizontal hospital settings; however, in many cases, the source is unknown. Preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM), caused by C. koseri, has rarely been described. Herein, we describe a case of PPROM at 16 weeks and 3 days of gestation, leading to anhydramnios. The parents opted for legal termination of the pregnancy, as the prognosis was very poor. C. koseri was isolated postmortem from a placental subamniotic swab and parenchymal sample, as well as fetal blood and lung. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of early second-trimester PPROM in which C. koseri infection was demonstrated.

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