Austrian Syndrome: Community-Acquired Pneumonia in an Unusual Triad

Austrian syndrome corresponds to the triad of meningitis, pneumonia, and endocarditis caused by Streptococcus pneumoniae, there is no global or local incidence given the infrequency of entity. Scarce cases are published in Latin America, with none of them in Colombia. A case of Austrian syndrome by penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae in an immunocompetent patient is presented. Aortic valve is the most frequent site involved in Austrian syndrome; this patient had an unusual localization of the vegetation on the right coronary artery ostium. The prognosis is poor with a mortality rate of 30% or higher, this patient survived despite systemic complications. Vaccination status impacts in prevention and severity of cases because responsible serotypes are often included in available vaccines. The patient had a serotype covered by available vaccines; however, her vaccination status was unknown. Thus, we present the first case reported in Colombia of Austrian syndrome by a penicillin-resistant S. pneumoniae, in a patient with no identified comorbidities or toxicological history, with a successful evolution.

Cite this article as: Ochoa-Diaz AF, Díaz-Jurado JJ, Suárez-Ospino NI, Silva-Martínez PA, Fajardo-Rivero JE. Austrian syndrome: Community-acquired pneumonia in an unusual triad. Thorac Res Pract. 2023;24(4):228-230.