Severe vasculitis as an unusual complication of disseminated Staphylococcus aureus infection

We described an atypical case of 14-years-old child with septic shock due to methicillin susceptible S. aureus and who developed ischemia of the four limbs due to medium-sized arterial vasculitis despite appropriate antibiotherapy. The S. aureus strain carried numerous virulence factors, and the patient carried gain-of-function polymorphisms located in genes coding for proteins involved in inflammatory response and coagulation. The combination of virulence and host factors might explain the severity of the staphylococcal infection in our patient through a high microbial invasion of the vessels, as well as the increased inflammatory and pro-coagulant state.