Pasteurella multocida Bacteremia and Peritonitis in a Patient With Cirrhosis: A Life-Threatening Case From a Prick of a Cactus

A 58-year-old male with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis cirrhosis presents with right lower extremity cellulitis, abdominal tenderness, and severe sepsis after sustaining puncture injury from a cactus on a property with feral cats. Blood cultures and diagnostic paracentesis were consistent with spontaneous bacterial peritonitis due to Pasteurella multocida, a gram-negative coccobacillus found in the respiratory tract of domestic animals. The patient received timely antibiotic coverage with resolution of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis and sepsis after 14-day treatment. This case emphasizes the life-threatening nature of systemic Pasteurella multocida infection as well as an indirect way of acquiring a zoonotic infection in a patient with end-stage liver disease.