Chromobacterium violaceumSepticaemia and Urinary Tract Infection: Case Reports from a Tertiary Care Hospital in South India

Abstract

Chromobacterium violaceum is a gram negative oxidase positive bacillus that causes human infections infrequently. It is a normal inhabitant of soil and stagnant water of the tropical and subtropical areas. In humans, it can cause infections ranging from life threatening sepsis with metastatic abscesses to skin infections and urinary tract infections. The organism is notoriously resistant to most cephalosporins and Ampicillin. Fluoroquinolones and aminoglycosides show good in vitro susceptibility. High mortality rates associated with these infections necessitate prompt diagnosis and appropriate antimicrobial therapy. Here we present three cases of Chromobacterium violaceum infection from Government Medical College Kozhikode, Kerala.

First Case of <i>Chromobacterium violaceum</i> as Urinary Tract Infection Agent in Angola

“…After 1990, Ciprofloxacin and Carbapenems became the predominant antimicrobial agents [5] [9]. In this case the organism was susceptible to Ciprofloxacin, Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, Doxycycline that corresponds to data obtained from others studies [3] [4] [10]. Also our study demonstrated the sensitivity of C. violaceum to Amoxicillin/Clavulanic acid while Swain [3] and Plant [4] reported resistance of C. violaceum to it.…”

Chromobacterium violaceum causing deadly sepsis

“…C. violaceum is generally considered to be of low virulence but septicemia can be deadly. The virulent strains of C. violaceum have elevated levels of superoxide dismutase and catalase which may protect the bacteria from phagocytic attack in humans, in turn leading to fatal infections ( 16 ). Data on antimicrobial susceptibility pattern of this organism is scanty because infections are quite rare.…”

Chromobacterium violaceuml-induced sepsis and multiorgan dysfunction, resembling melioidosis in an elderly diabetic patient: A case report with review of literature

“…[ 3 17 ] Various antibiotic regimens have been used by various authors, however, ciprofloxacin, co-trimoxazole, gentamicin, and carbapenems have been sensitive in all cases, and ampicillin/amoxicillin have been resistant in almost all cases. [ 2 3 4 5 9 ]…”