Varied clinical presentations of Vibrio vulnificus infections: a report of four unusual cases and review of the literature

Vibrio vulnificus is a Gram-negative, motile, curved bacillus of the family Vibrionaceae that is a rare cause of gastroenteritis, septicemia, and wound infections in humans. V. vulnificus is halophilic, flourishes in warm temperatures, and is part of the bacterial flora of the marine environment. The location of our health care setting, on the Gulf of Mexico, has given us the opportunity to observe a wide variety of clinical presentations of infections caused by this organism. In the first case, a 27-year-old man struck by lightning while windsurfing was found pulseless in the water and was resuscitated. The patient subsequently developed cardiac arrhythmias, respiratory failure, and necrotizing fasciitis, blood cultures yielded V. vulnificus. After antibiotic therapy and several fasciotomies, the patient recovered. The second case was that of a 43-year-old Asian man employed as an oyster shucker who presented with complaints of redness, tearing, and photophobia of the right eye. The diagnosis of corneal ulcer secondary to V. vulnificus was made after culture of the right eye revealed the organism. The third case involved a 46-year-old man who presented with complaints of abdominal pain, nausea, chills, and bullous lesions on the lower extremities. He developed disseminated intravascular coagulation, and cultures of the lesions on his lower extremities showed V. vulnificus. Initially, the patient denied any exposure to raw seafood or seawater, but he eventually remembered eating raw oysters 3 days before his illness. The fourth case is that of a 32-year-old, human immunodeficiency virus-positive, hepatitis C-positive woman with cirrhosis who presented with productive cough, chills, fever, and red spots on her extremities and buttocks. Blood cultures revealed V. vulnificus and the patient was treated with antibiotics and improved clinically. These four cases illustrate the wide range of clinical presentations associated with this organism.