Group a streptococcal pericarditis in a four-month-old infant: Case report

Purulent pericarditis is uncommon among paediatric patients and cases caused by group a streptococcus (gas) are even rarer. we report a four-month-old female infant who was referred to the royal hospital,muscat,oman,in 2015 with pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade. she had initially presented to a secondary hospital with a two-week history of fever,a runny nose and shortness of breath. blood and pericardial fluid cultures confirmed gas isolates. the infant was treated with a two-week course of antibiotics and made a complete recovery with no echocardiographical evidence of pericardial effusion at a two-month follow-up. to the best of the authors’ knowledge,this case constitutes the youngest infant to present with gas pericarditis. as invasive gas infections can present in infancy,early recognition and treatment is required. © 2017,sultan qaboos university. all rights reserved.