A rare presentation of Austrian syndrome with septic arthritis in an immunocompetent female

Abstract

Background: Austrian syndrome, which is also known as Osler’s triad, is a rare aggressive pathology consisting of pneumonia, endocarditis, and meningitis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae and carries drastic complications. Case presentation: A case of a 68-year-old female with a past medical history of hypertension and had a recent viral influenza is presented. She developed bacterial pneumonia, endocarditis with mitral and aortic vegetations and perforation, meningitis, and right sternoclavicular septic arthritis. Two prior case reports have described sternoclavicular septic arthritis as part of Austrian syndrome. Our case is the third case; however, it is the first case to have this tetrad in an immunocompetent patient with no risk factors, i.e., males, chronic alcoholism, immunosuppression, and splenectomy. Conclusions: Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for the possibility of sternoclavicular joint septic arthritis as a complication of Austrian syndrome in immunocompetent patients.