Pantoea dispersa bacteremia caused by central line-associated bloodstream infection

Abstract

Genus Pantoea is a rare pathogen in clinical settings. Among seven species of the rare organism, Pantoea agglomerans is the most prominent species in humans and clinical cases of Pantoea dispersa infection have scarcely been described. First case was reported in Germany in a 71-year-old woman with respiratory infection, 1 and recently, Mehar et al. described two neonatal cases in India. 2 We herein report another clinical case of P. dispersa infection from Japan.A 64-year-old man with dilated cardiomyopathy, sick sinus syndrome and diabetes mellitus was admitted to our hospital for control of chronic heart failure. A central venous catheter (CVC) was inserted and a permanent pacemaker was embedded 10 days after admission. Approximately two months later, he suddenly had high fever with shivering. Blood cultures were obtained and the CVC was removed, suspecting central line-associated bloodstream infection. A Gram-negative rod was detected from both blood and catheter tip cultures, and the organism was identified as belonging to the genus Pantoea by the Vitek2 system (bioMérieux, France) and rapid ID 32 system (bioMérieux, France). Finally, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) analysis identified the isolate as P. dispersa with a score value of 2.344. The pathogen was sensitive to ceftazidime, cefepime, imipenem, gentamycin, and levofloxacin, and administration of cefepime was initiated. A follow-up blood culture became positive again, and the pacemaker was removed with suspicion of pacemaker infection. The persistent bacteremia then disappeared. A total of four weeks of antibiotic therapy was completed without recurrence of infection.Epidemiology and clinical features of P. dispersa infection are still unknown due to its rarity and difficulty in accurate identification. For a more comprehensive understanding, bacterial identification should be accurately performed. However, due to the similarity in bacterial properties of species of the genus Pantoea, biochemical identification alone would not be appropriate and may even be misleading. For example, more than 10% of clinical isolates of P. agglomerans were misidentified as species of the genus Enterobacter by the VITEK MS system (bioMérieux, Marcy l'Etoile, France). 3 In those two previous cases of P. dispersa infection, 1,2 API 50 CHE system and Vitek2 system were used, and thus, accuracy of the identification was not known. Usually, 16S rRNA gene sequencing is used for the reference of bacterial identification; however, nucleotide sequences of P. dispersa have not been deposited in gene databases. Even if the sequence are known, results of analysis may not be correct; according to a recent report, only half of the clinical isolates of P. agglomerans (9/18 cases) were identified correctly by 16S rRNA analysis. 4 We identified the pathogen by means of MALDI-TOF MS analysis. Although the clinical utility of MALDI-TOF MS analysis for accurate identification of genus Pantoea is still unestablished, Richter et al. ...

Endogenous microbial contamination of melons (Cucumis melo) from international trade: an underestimated risk for the consumer?

“…Some Pantoea species, such as Pantoea dispersa , are used as plant growth‐promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) . Both S. marcescens (2.7%) and P. dispersa (1.4%) were isolated from pulp samples in the present study and have already been described as facultative pathogenic bacteria for humans …”

“…62 Both S. marcescens (2.7%) and P. dispersa (1.4%) were isolated from pulp samples in the present study and have already been described as facultative pathogenic bacteria for humans. 63,64 As described by Iniguez et al 65 , Klerks et al 15 and Roy et al 14 , internalization of some microorganisms depends both on the microorganism itself and on the plant. Some bacteria, such as E. coli O157:H7, were easily recognized as foreign organisms by Arabidopsis thaliana, and a more intense immune reaction was provoked and internalization could be inhibited.…”

Pantoea dispersa it the next emerging “monster” in our intensive care units? A case report and review of literature

“…[ 14 ] In 2014, there was a reported case of P dispersa , being the cause of bacteremia via a central line, again an opportunistic invasion. [ 15 ] Surprisingly, in another report from Iraq, the majority of samples contained P. agglomerans , followed by Pantoea ananatis and Pantoea calida . Their conclusion was that these are the opportunistic, MDR microorganisms commonly causing the nosocomial infections.…”

Epidemiology and antibiotic resistance trends of Pantoea species in a tertiary-care teaching hospital: A 12-year retrospective study

“…Our results correspond to the findings of Cheng et al (ampicillin susceptibility: 56%, cefazolin susceptibility: 61%, other antibiotics: 100%), Cruz et al (ampicillin susceptibility: 47.2%, cefazolin susceptibility: 62.3%, second-generation cephalosporins: 92.5%, other antibiotics: 100%), and other case studies reporting on Pantoea spp. infections [2][3][4][5][6]8]. In the study of Mardaneh and Dallal [15], 12.5% of isolates were susceptible to ampicillin, 62.5% were susceptible to meropenem and amikacin, 75% were susceptible to gentamicin and piperacillin-tazobactam, and 100% were susceptible to colistin and tigecycline.…”

“…It is generally considered a rare, opportunistic pathogen with low virulence, mainly implicated in nosocomial outbreaks affecting neonates and immunocompromised patients [4,5]. Most of the affected patients in the literature had severe underlying illnesses (hematological malignancies or solid tumours, manifest AIDS); however, infections associated with penetrative trauma, contaminated intravascular catheters and fluids (dialysis and intravenous anesthesia), and agricultural occupation have also been reported [1,4,6,7]. In addition, associations of P. agglomerans bacteremia with antacid/proton pump inhibitor use (corresponding to a decreased protective effect of gastric acid) and gastrointestinal mucosal injury have been described, which may be attributable to the abundance of P. agglomerans on fruits or vegetables [4,8].…”