Clinical characteristics of patients with Ochrobactrum anthropi bloodstream infection in a Chinese tertiary-care hospital: A 7-year study.

BACKGROUND: Ochrobactrum anthropi has become an emerging pathogen for bloodstream infection (BSI).

METHODS: From January 1st 2010 to June 30th 2017, inpatients with one or more blood cultures positive for O. anthropi isolates at Chinese People's Liberation Army General Hospital in Beijing, China, were enrolled in this study. Clinical and laboratory data were collected by reviewing electronic records.

RESULTS: A total of 11 patients with O. anthropi BSI were identified, of which 10 patients survived. There were 6 males and 5 females, whose age ranged from 2 to 83 years. 7 infections were hospital-acquired. In 8 cases O. anthropi was the only pathogen. The most common symptoms of O. anthropi BSI were fever (100%) and disorders of consciousness (45.5%). All patients had undergone indwelling catheter placement. O. anthropi isolates in this study were most susceptible to levofloxacin (100%), ciprofloxacin (85.7%), imipenem (85.7%) and cotrimoxazole (85.7%), while they were widely resistant to penicillins and cephalosporins.

CONCLUSIONS: O. anthropi BSI usually happens in patients with indwelling catheters, and often begins with no distinctive symptom or laboratory finding. O. anthropi seldom form polymicrobial BSIs. Quinolones and carbapenems are optimal antibiotics for O. anthropi BSI. Catheter removal is essential when O. anthropi BSI happens recurrently.