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An unusual case of post-trauma polymicrobial cutaneous diphtheria

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Abstract

We report a rare case of post-traumatic cutaneous diphtheria in a patient referred from a hospital in rural India. The diagnosis of cutaneous diphtheria was confirmed by the isolation of Corynebacterium diphtheriae cultured from the ulcer of the leg, along with Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pyogenes, and Arcanobacterium haemolyticum. The patient was kept on isolation and treated with erythromycin for 14 days without antitoxin. He was discharged when his subsequent cultures turned out to be negative. Chemoprophylaxis was also given to his family members. Such a case highlights the revisiting of vaccination strategies and the role of cutaneous carriers in transmission of this deadly disease.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

    Aishwarya Govindaswamy & Purva Mathur

  2. Department of Orthopedics, Jai Prakash Narayan Apex Trauma Centre, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India

    Vivek Trikha, Anupam Gupta & Samarth Mittal

Authors
  1. Aishwarya Govindaswamy
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  2. Vivek Trikha
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  3. Anupam Gupta
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  4. Purva Mathur
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  5. Samarth Mittal
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Samarth Mittal.

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A written consent was obtained from the patient for publication.

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Govindaswamy, A., Trikha, V., Gupta, A. et al. An unusual case of post-trauma polymicrobial cutaneous diphtheria. Infection 47, 1055–1057 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-019-01300-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s15010-019-01300-x

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