Misleading presentation of staphylococcal pneumonia in an adolescent girl: a case report

S. aureus is a relatively uncommon causative agent of community-acquired pneumonia. The clinical presentation of staphylococcal community-acquired pneumonia is typically acute and severe. Rarely, its clinical and imaging features may mimic other lung diseases, thereby delaying and misleading the diagnosis. We report a case of a 13-year-old girl without predisposing factors who was admitted with a recent history of mild chest pain, weakness and slight fever. Although clinical presentation and imaging findings suggested tuberculosis infection, broncho-alveolar lavage results showed a positivity for methicillin-susceptible S. aureus. A complete recovery was observed after a 21-day course of antibiotics. Our case highlights that staphylococcal pneumonia may develop in adolescents without underlying risk factors, mimicking, in rare cases, clinical presentation and radiological features of pulmonary tuberculosis.