Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus causing empyema: a complication of a gastric balloon

Abstract

Lactobacillus spp. is a genus of gram-positive bacteria that are usually considered part of the normal bacterial flora of the human being; however, there is debate about the pathological significance in some situations. The clinical case is about a 38-year-old female patient, with a history of consuming probiotics for 6 months, who presented digestive bleeding due to erosive gastritis and diffuse gastric ulceration and Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus pneumonia associated with empyema as a complication after the placement of an intragastric balloon. Infections by germs of the genus Lactobacillus spp. are infrequent and their isolation in sterile tissues or biological fluids must be interpreted with caution according to the clinical findings. Esophagogastroduodenoscopy can predispose to the development of pneumonia and empyema  by aspiration; in addition, it has been seen that the habitual consumption of probiotics substantially increases the risk of infection by these germs.