Klebsiella-induced acute infectious purpura fulminans in a Thai woman: Case report and review of literature.

Abstract

Purpura fulminans (PF) is an uncommon syndrome of acute purplish skin eruption characterized by coagulation of the microvasculature, which leads to purplish lesions and skin necrosis. There are three subtypes; idiopathic PF, neonatal PF and, the most common subtype, acute infectious PF (AIPF). Acute infectious PF is related to the thrombotic subtype of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and usually is superimposed on sepsis. This can rapidly lead to multi-organ failure from thrombotic occlusion of small and medium-sized blood vessels. We report a case of Klebsiella-induced AIPF in a 78-year-old Thai woman and also review other published cases.