A case of congenital Listeria septicemia associated with high levels of inflammatory cytokines.

A case of congenital Listeria septicemia is reported. A 2256 g male infant suffering from respiratory and circulatory failure with shock-like symptoms and high levels of inflammatory cytokines (tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1 beta, -6, and -8), was admitted to the Morioka Red Cross Hospital. Listeria monocytogenes was cultured from cord blood, contents from the external ear canal, rectum and stomach. The infant was treated with surfactant replacement as well as conventional therapy. The high levels of interleukin-1 beta decreased with the improvement of the circulatory function, which might have been the major cause of the poor clinical state.