Infections due to Elizabethkingia meningoseptica in critically injured trauma patients: a seven-year study

Abstract

Elizabethkingia meningoseptica is an infrequent cause of hospital-acquired infections. The clinical and microbiological profiles of infections due to E. meningoseptica over a seven-year period at a Level-I trauma centre are reported in this study. Medical records of patients from whose clinical samples E. meningoseptica was isolated on more than one occasion were reviewed. A total of 21 cases were observed during the study, 16 (76.2%) of which exhibited multidrug resistance. The observed in-hospital mortality rate was 47.6%. A high index of clinical suspicion and effective detection of E. meningoseptica in clinical samples are requisite for improved clinical outcome.

Keywords: Bronchoalveolar lavage; Elizabethkingia meningoseptica; Immunocompetent; Intensive care unit; Multidrug resistant; Trauma.