Listeriosis history and symptoms
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: João André Alves Silva, M.D. [2]
Overview
Listeriosis can present in different ways depending on the type of infection, such as: fever, headacheand muscle aches, sometimes preceded by diarrhea or other gastrointestinal symptoms. Other less common symptoms may include: stiff neck, confusion and convulsions. It has an incubation period which can range from a median of 24 hours, in Listeria gastroenteritis, to a median of 35 days, in Listeria invasive disease. Manifestations of listeriosis are host-dependent. In older adults and persons with immunocompromising conditions, septicemia and meningitis are the most common clinical presentations. Pregnant women may experience a mild, flu-like illness followed by fetal loss or bacteremia and meningitis in their newborns. Immunocompetent persons may experience acute febrile gastroenteritis or no symptoms.
Symptoms
Febrile Gastroenteritis
Symptoms may include:
Infection in Pregnancy
Pregnant women suffer greater risk of L. monocytogenes infection because during pregnancy there is a slight impairment of cell-mediated immunity. Lysteria is also able to proliferate in the placenta, in hard-to-reach areas for the immune system. Infection occurs more frequently during the third trimester of gestation, with an estimated 17 fold increase[1], presenting most commonly with flu-like symptoms, such as:
- fever
- chills
- back pain
The infection may be mild and the diagnosis missed, if blood cultures are not obtained. Since bacteremia, with no CNS involvement is common rule in pregnant women with listeriosis, blood cultures should always be obtained in pregnant women who present with fever, with no other alternative cause, such as UTI or pharyngitis. Because cell-to-cell transmission facilitates maternal-fetal transmission[2], listeriosis in pregnant women, can result in:
- fetal death
- premature birth
- infected newborns
Among pregnant women with listeriosis, 2/3 of the surviving infants develop clinical neonatal listeriosis.[3]. The newborn also has great risk of developing granulomatosis infantiseptica, a severe in utero infection resulting from transplacental transmission, in which infants may present with:
- disseminated abscesses
- granulomas in multiple internal organs (brain, lungs, liver, spleen and kidneys)
- papular or ulcerative skin lesions.
- most infants with this disease are stillborn or die soon after birth.
L. monocytogenes is one of the three major causes of neonatal meningitis, worldwide. The early diagnosis and treatment of pregnant women infected with Listeria may lead to the birth of a normal healthy child.[4]
Sepsis of Unknown Origin
Occurs in patients of all ages. Neonates usually tend to acquire the infection during or after birth. When this occurs during the first week of life, it usually manifests as sepsis, while after this first week, it tends to have more variable manifestations, such as meningitis. Early onset of sepsis is associated with higher neonatal mortality. In this case, L. monocitogenes can be isolated from conjunctivae, amniotic fluid, meconium, placental blood, with higher concentrations of bacteria being found in the neonatal lung and gut, which suggests that infection is acquired in utero, by inhalation of infected amniotic fluid.[5]
- Listerial meningoencephalitis is more common in neonates after 3 days of age, as well as in immunocompromised and elderly adults.
- Adults presenting Listerial sepsis, are most commonly immunocompromised or elderly, and typically present with fever and chills. Septic shock can occur with brain and/or meningeal involvement, leading to meningoencephalitis or cerebritis.
Bacteremia
After the neonatal period, the most common manifestation of listeriosis is bacteremia without and evident focus of infection. The clinical manifestations include:
Since most of the times that healthy individuals experience these manifestations do not have their blood cultured, they have higher probability of transient bacteremias going undetected.[6]
CNS Infection
Because L. monocytogenes has tropism for the brain stem and meninges, unlike other causes of bacterial meningitis, Listeria tends to cause parenchymal brain infections. Therefore, most patients will experience altered consciousness, seizures and/or movement disorders, and will truly have meningoencephalitis. Central Nervous System infection most commonly manifests by meningoencephalitis, while cerebritis, which usually progresses into brain abscess and rhombencephalitis, is a less common manifestation. "In a study from the Massachusetts General Hospital, with CNS listeriosis outside neonatal period and pregnancy, the most common predisposing factor for developing listerial meningitis was malignancy, the second most common factor being transplantation, followed by alcoholism and liver disease, immunosuppression and steroid treatment, diabetes mellitus and HIV".[7].
1. Meningoencephalitis Occurs more frequently in neonates after 3 days of age and in immunocompromised and elderly patients. The clinical presentation can range from mild fever and mental status changes, to a more aggressive course with coma. There may also be an encephalic component present, which will present with focal neurological signs, such as:
- Cranial nerve abnormalities
- Ataxia
- Tremors
- Hemiplegia
- Deafness
- Seizures
2. Cerebritis/ Encephalitis Results from direct hematogenous invasion of cerebral parenchyma, with or without meningeal involvement, probably representing an early localised infection of the parenchyma, which might eventually progress into brain abscess. Cerebritis may occur alongside meningitis in the same patient. In these cases, the clinical picture is dominated by altered consciousness or cognitive disfunction, but may also manifest as[8]:
3. Rhombencephalitis Rare manifestation of CNS infection, which affects more commonly healthy individuals through the ingestion of Listeria contaminated food, often in outbreaks. Rhombencephalitis often follows a biphasic course, beginning with:
Which lasts for about 4 days, and is followed by an abrupt onset of:
- Asymetrical cranial nerve palsies
- Ataxia
- Tremor
- Decreased consciousness
- Seizures
- Hemiparesis and/or hemisensory deficits
- Respiratory failure
Mortality is high and the survivors tend to experience serious sequelae.
4. Brain abscess Most cases occur in patients at risk for infection. The subcortical abscesses tend to be located in the thalamus, the pons and/or medulla, sites which are rarely affected by other bacteria.[9].
5. Spinal cord infection Rare cases of spinal cord involvement have been reported. However, if spinal symptoms develop, in the setting of acute bacterial meningitis of uncertain etiology, L. monocytogenes should be considered"[10]. Despite the fact of Listeria being the most common infectious cause of rhombencephalitis, it must be distinguished from other infectious etiologies, such as:
- Herpes simplex encephalities
- Tuberculosis
- Toxoplasmosis
- Cryptococcosis
- Lyme disease
- Epstein-Barr virus
- Brucellosis
- JC virus
There are also noninfectious conditions which may cause brainstem and/or cerebral lesions, such as:
The diagnosis of rhombencephalitis can be delayed by the fact that CSF analysis often reveals only mild abnormalities, but may be demonstrated by Magnetic resonance.
Endocarditis
Listerial endocarditis affects the population at risk for streptococcus viridans endocarditis, producing native and prosthetic valve disease and having an elevated rate of septic complications. Listerial endocarditis alone, may be an indicator of a GI tract abnormality, such as cancer[11].
Focal infections
Most focal infections have no specific characteristics, but do share a most common host, the immunocompromised patient. These might include:
- Skin or eye infections
- Oculoglandular syndrome, pneumonia, empyema, myocarditis, lymphadenitis, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis and necrotizing fasciitis.
- Brain abscess and spinal abscesses, as well as cholecystitis, resulting from hematogenous dissemination.
- Acute hepatitis, simulating viral hepatitis, seen in patients with disseminated infections.
- Peritonitis, seen in cirrhosis and continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis patients.
References
- ↑ Mandell, Gerald L.; Bennett, John E. (John Eugene); Dolin, Raphael. (2010). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious disease. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 0-443-06839-9.
- ↑ Mandell, Gerald L.; Bennett, John E. (John Eugene); Dolin, Raphael. (2010). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious disease. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 0-443-06839-9.
- ↑ Mandell, Gerald L.; Bennett, John E. (John Eugene); Dolin, Raphael. (2010). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious disease. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 0-443-06839-9.
- ↑ Mandell, Gerald L.; Bennett, John E. (John Eugene); Dolin, Raphael. (2010). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious disease. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 0-443-06839-9.
- ↑ Mandell, Gerald L.; Bennett, John E. (John Eugene); Dolin, Raphael. (2010). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious disease. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 0-443-06839-9.
- ↑ Mandell, Gerald L.; Bennett, John E. (John Eugene); Dolin, Raphael. (2010). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious disease. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 0-443-06839-9.
- ↑ Mandell, Gerald L.; Bennett, John E. (John Eugene); Dolin, Raphael. (2010). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious disease. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 0-443-06839-9.
- ↑ Mandell, Gerald L.; Bennett, John E. (John Eugene); Dolin, Raphael. (2010). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious disease. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 0-443-06839-9.
- ↑ Mandell, Gerald L.; Bennett, John E. (John Eugene); Dolin, Raphael. (2010). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious disease. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 0-443-06839-9.
- ↑ Mandell, Gerald L.; Bennett, John E. (John Eugene); Dolin, Raphael. (2010). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious disease. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 0-443-06839-9.
- ↑ Mandell, Gerald L.; Bennett, John E. (John Eugene); Dolin, Raphael. (2010). Mandell, Douglas, and Bennett's principles and practice of infectious disease. Philadelphia, PA: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier. ISBN 0-443-06839-9.