Purpura Fulminans: a Rare but Fierce Presentation of Pneumococcal Sepsis

• Main Authors: Adeel Nasrullah, Anam Javed, Usman Tariq, Meilin Young, Zunera Moeen, Marvin Balaan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: SMC MEDIA SRL 2019-12-01
• Series: European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine
• Subjects: purpura fulminans; sepsis; hyperbaric oxygen therapy; streptococcus pneumoniae
• Online Access: https://www.ejcrim.com/index.php/EJCRIM/article/view/1373

Infectious purpura fulminans (PF) is a rare presentation of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy (DIC) due to diffuse intravascular thrombosis and haemorrhagic infarction of the skin. PF can present in infancy/childhood or adulthood and usually presents as ecchymotic skin lesions, fever and hypotension. It is most commonly a consequence of sepsis related to Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae or Haemophilus influenzae. Despite aggressive management of sepsis with intravenous fluids, antibiotics, and conventional and nonconventional therapies, the condition still carries a mortality rate of 43%[1]. Streptococcus pneumoniae mostly presents with community-acquired pneumonia. We present a case of PF secondary to DIC related to Pneumococcal sepsis in an otherwise healthy and immunocompetent patient.