Primary Pseudomonas maltophilia infection of the lung

Abstract

To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of primary Pseudomonas maltophilia pneumonia. Presenting symptoms were fever and chills of two days' duration and a density in the right upper lobe. Sputum culture showed normal flora, and multiple blood cultures were negative. Antibiotic therapy initially with penicillin and then with carbenicillin was unsuccessful. Selective bronchial aspiration yielded pure cultures of P maltophilia. When an appropriate antibiotic, chloramphenicol, was given, a prompt therapeutic response followed.

Associated mortality and clinical characteristics of nosocomial Pseudomonas maltophilia in a university hospital

“…Six intensive care areas account for 8% of hospital beds. The study period extended from 1 January 1981 through 31 December 1984.…”

“…Early isolates were recovered from various locations, including well and river water, raw milk, frozen fish, raw sewage, rabbit and human feces, contaminated tissue culture, and various human body fluids (20). More recently, the organism has been identified as a cause of bloodstream infections (11,24,33,41), endocarditis (5, 9, 40), infections of traumatic and postoperative wounds (6,13,14,28), urinary tract infections (13,14), pneumonia (7,12,31), meningitis (4,27), epididymitis (34), eye infections (2,4,34), and mastoiditis (16). This report describes the spectrum of clinical disease in 99 patients from whom nosocomial P. maltophilia was isolated between 1981 and 1984 at the University of Virginia Hospital.…”

The Clinical Spectrum of Stenotrophomonas (Xanthomonas) Maltophilia Respiratory Infection

“…15 One episode of community-acquired pneumonia has been reported in a hypertensive elderly man. 11 In one other case, S. maltophilia was isolated in mixed culture from a lung aspirate in a young female patient with obstructive pneumonitis due to endobronchial tuberculosis. 12 The location of the infiltrates was reported in four cases (right upper lobe in three and left hemithorax in one).…”

“…The only previously described cases of S. maltophilia RTI, using rigid diagnostic criteria similar to the ones utilized in our study, are five cases of pneumonia. 11,12,15,16 In three instances the infections occurred in debilitated patients; two of them had tracheostomy or endotracheal tube 16 and the other had aplastic anemia and was neutropenic. 15 One episode of community-acquired pneumonia has been reported in a hypertensive elderly man.…”

Nosocomial Infections due to <i>Stenotrophmonas maltophilia</i>

“…Although Sarkar and associates reported a primary pulmonary infection caused by S. maltophilia, colonization with S. maltophilia is most common in patients with severe underlying illness, and it can be difficult to distinguish colonization from infection (7). Risk factors for S. maltophilia isolation are reported to be a long stays in intensive care units, mechanical ventilation, indwelling catheters previous antimicrobial therapy, steroid therapy and malignant diseases (4,5,7,8). Amanoand associates reported two cases of polymyositis (PM) complicated with nosocomial pneumonia probably by S. maltophilia in this issue (9).…”