Open AccessElizabethkingia Meningoseptica: An Emerging Nosocomial Pathogen Causing Septicemia in Critically Ill Patients
Author(s) -
Manoj Kumar Sahu,
Uma Balasubramaniam,
Chalattil Bipin,
Sarvesh Pal Singh,
Sachin Talwar
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
indian journal of critical care medicine/indian journal of critical care medicine
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.317
H-Index - 30
eISSN - 1998-359X
pISSN - 0972-5229
DOI - 10.5005/jp-journals-10071-23127
Subject(s) - medicine , colistin , intensive care medicine , sepsis , extracorporeal membrane oxygenation , antibiotics , pathogen , critically ill , intensive care , microbiology and biotechnology , immunology , biology
Elizabethkingia meningoseptica ( E. meningoseptica ), is an opportunistic Gram-negative bacteria, normally found in water and soil, notorious for causing nosocomial infections in extremes of ages and immunocompromised patients. It is now emerging as a serious nosocomial pathogen, intrinsically resistant to several commonly used antibiotics (e.g. beta-lactams, aminoglycosides, carbapenems and colistin etc. and a cause of high mortality in critically ill patients in intensive care units (ICUs). We report the first case of E. meningoseptica sepsis in a 5 month old child after open heart surgery for transposition of great arteries, initially on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation, then prolonged mechanical ventilation, with various invasive devices, inotropes and exposed to broad spectrum antibiotics in our ICU. The case highlights the potential risk factors responsible for E.meningoseptica sepsis. Its unusual pattern of resistance to many commonly used antibiotics makes this organism difficult to treat.