COVID-19 as a Possible Cause of Functional Exhaustion of CD4 and CD8 T-cells and Persistent Cause of Methicillin-Sensitive Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia

Abstract

We report a case of a 73-year-old male with a history of diabetes mellitus, osteomyelitis, methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) bacteremia who recently completed an extended intravenous course of cefazolin eight days back, and presented with MSSA bacteremia complicated by epidural abscess, endocarditis, and aortic root abscess. Meanwhile, the patient was tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Even with aggressive antibiotic treatment, the patient remained bacteremic and developed endocarditis with a worsening aortic root abscess. We suspect coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as a cause for the infectious paradox and will discuss the possible mechanisms in this case report.