Leuconostoc bacteremia in a child with short-gut syndrome.

In the last decade Leuconostoc species have been reported with increasing frequency as human pathogens, causing bacteremia, meningitis and peritonitis. We report here a child with short-bowel syndrome who developed bacteremia following multiple surgeries for necrotizing enterocolitis. Leuconostoc species was isolated from the blood cultures. The child was successfully treated with ampicillin and gentamycin. He however remained total parenteral nutrition dependent due to his multiple abnormalities. We call the attention of microbiologists and pediatricians to this emerging pathogen, which is intrinsically resistant to vancomycin and can be misidentified in the microbiology laboratory as Viridans streptococci or Enterococci. Increased awareness by clinicians of this organism is called for, if it is to be recognized and appropriately treated.