Chryseobacterium indologenes pneumonia in a patient with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Abstract

A 42-year-old man diagnosed with gastric non-Hodgkin's lymphoma 2 years earlier, for which he had undergone treatment, presented with expectorative cough, exertional shortness of breath and left-sided chest pain of 3 months duration. Respiratory system examination was suggestive of left-sided pneumonia with pleural effusion. Routine haemogram showed leukocytosis with high erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Chest radiograph showed blunting of left-sided cardiophrenic angle. Sputum culture grew Chryseobacterium indologenes. Diagnostic thoracocentesis was suggestive of lymphomatous metastasis. Pleural fluid culture was sterile. Contrastenhanced CT (CECT) of the thorax showed left lower lobe consolidation with bilateral pleural effusion. The patient was treated with antibiotics, following which his cough improved and total leukocyte count normalised. Sputum culture repeated after the antibiotic course showed no growth of C. indologenes. However, the pleural effusion soon aggravated along with features suggestive of multiple metastasis. The patient finally succumbed to his underlying advanced malignancy.