[Case of Streptococcus salivarius bacteremia/meningoencephalitis leading to discovery of early gastric cancer].

A 73-year old man was brought to our hospital because of acute onset of fever and consciousness disturbance. He had been hemodialyzed three times a week because of chronic renal failure since 13 years ago. Neurological examination revealed deteriorated consciousness and neck stiffness. A lumbar puncture yielded clouded fluid with a WBC 7,912/mm³ (polymorphonuclear cells 88%, mononuclear cells 12%), 786 mg/dl of protein and 4 mg/dl of glucose (blood glucose 118 mg/dl). Brain CT and MRI were unremarkable. He was treated with ceftriaxone and ampicillin. Streptococcus salivarius was isolated from the blood sample, but not from cerebrospinal fluid. The patient responded promptly to antibiotics therapy (ampicillin 3g/day, ceftriaxone 1g/day), and within several days he became lucid and afebrile. Isolated S. salivarius was sensitive for ampicillin and ceftriaxone. We diagnosed this case as S. salivarius bacteremia/meningoencephalitis. A gastrointestinal diagnostic workup revealed an asymptomatic gastric adenocarcinoma. S. salivarius is a common inhabitant of the oral mucosa that has been associated with infection in different sites. Meningeal infection by S. salivarius generally related to neoplasia of colon or iatrogenia, has been described on few occasions. This is the first report of S. salivarius bacteremia/meningoencephalitis associated with gastric neoplasm. Neurologist should be aware of the association of S. salivarius bacteremia/meningoencephalitis and gastrointestinal disease.