Evaluation of Sphingomonas paucimobilis as an emerging nosocomial pathogen in a teaching hospital in Uttarakhand

Ranjana Rohilla; Dimple Raina; Malvika Singh; Ajay Kumar Pandita; Shiwang Patwal

doi:10.18502/ijm.v13i5.7425

Ranjana Rohilla Department of Microbiology, Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, Dehradun, India
Dimple Raina Department of Microbiology, Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, Dehradun, India
Malvika Singh Department of Microbiology, Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, Dehradun, India
Ajay Kumar Pandita Department of Community Medicine, Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, Dehradun, India
Shiwang Patwal Department of Microbiology, Shri Guru Ram Rai Institute of Medical and Health Sciences, Dehradun, India

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijm.v13i5.7425

Keywords: Sphingomonas; Nosocomial; paucimobilis; Septicemia; Antimicrobial; Steroid

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Sphingomonas paucimobilis is an opportunistic pathogen and was rarely encountered in clin- ical specimens previously. This study aimed to investigate the clinical features, associated co-morbidities, and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of S. paucimobilis infection in a tertiary hospital in Uttarakhand.

Materials and Methods: S. paucimobilis isolates cultured from various sections of hospital and OPDs were identified and an- alyzed for their antibiograms in the microbiology laboratory for a duration of one year from January 2020 to December 2020. Results: S. paucimobilis was isolated from 49 samples (0.01%) out of 3792 samples processed in VITEK 2 Compact auto- mated ID/AST instrument. The maximum number of isolates were obtained from urine samples (31%), followed by blood (24%). Septicemia (41%), meningitis (17%), lower respiratory tract infections and ventilator associated pneumonia (14%) constituted a major portion of infections caused by this organism. Diabetes mellitus (22%) and steroid usage (16%) were major associated co-morbid conditions. Third and Fourth generation cephalosporins like ceftriaxone (81%) and cefepime (86%) were found to be the most susceptible drugs whereas 61% of isolates were resistant to colistin.

Conclusion: This organism is an up-and-coming pathogen and should not be simply labeled as a contaminant. Although the organism is not grossly virulent and still might not be associated with serious life-threatening infections; however their evolving resistance patterns and increased spectrum of infections should be seriously taken into account.