Capnocytophaga canimorsus: Rare cause of Fatal Septic Shock. Case report

Introduction: Capnocytophaga canimorsus is a common bacterium in oral cavity of dogs and cats. Severe sepsis can develop following a dog or cat bite or scratch in susceptible individuals. Main risk factor for severe infections is immune deficit.
Case presentation: We describe a case of eighty-one-years old woman with significant comorbidities admitted to the hospital with fever and non-specific symptoms following a fall at home. She was bitten by her dog 3 days prior to admission with a small wound on her hand. She had cardiac arrest with cardiopulmonary resuscitation eleven hours after admission and died ten hours later in ICU from refractory septic shock. PCR confirmed C. canimorsus as a causative organism.
Conclusions: Severe infections caused by C. canimorsus can develop following a bite or a scratch by dog or cat. Fulminant sepsis with fatal outcome can rapidly evolve and the main risk factor among patient population is present immune deficiency. Clinicians should be aware of this fact and any person at risk presenting to the hospital with recent bite or scratch injury by dog or cat should be given adequate antibiotic treatment.