Characteristics of Chryseobacterium bacteremia, associated risk factors and their antibiotic susceptibility pattern at a university hospital: a descriptive, retrospective study

Abstract

Introduction. Chryseobacterium species are emerging bacteria capable of causing nosocomial infections in immunocompromised patients or patients with indwelling medical devices. Hypothesis/ Gap statement. Information about the incidence of Chryseobacterium bacteremia from worldwide literature is limited. Aim. We aimed to recognize the clinical characteristics, frequency of distribution of different Chryseobacterium species isolates, and their antimicrobial susceptibility profile from bloodstream infections. Methods. We performed a retrospective cohort study to identify all isolates of Chryseobacterium species from bloodstream infection from January 2018 to November 2022 at a university hospital in North India. Results. We identified 42 non-duplicate isolates of Chryseobacterium species from bloodstream infection in the duration of our study. Mean age of the patients was 48.35±16.63 years. Men (22/42, 52.2 %) were more commonly affected in comparison to women (20/42, 47.6 %) but the difference was not significant. The most common species identified was C. indologenes (40/42, 95.24 %) followed by C. gleum (2/42, 4.76 %). The co-morbidities commonly encountered in our study were chronic kidney disease (21/42, 50.0 %) followed by diabetes mellitus (12/42, 28.6 %) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (8/42, 19.05 %). All patients had intravenous access to medications or fluid management via a central or peripheral line and mechanical ventilation was observed in 39 (39/42, 92.86 %) patients. All the isolates were susceptible to minocycline (100 %), followed by doxycycline (97.6 %) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (95.2 %). Conclusion. Chryseobacterium species are capable of causing pneumonia, bacteremia and urinary tract infection in immunocompromised patients. Early diagnosis and prompt treatment with appropriate antibiotics can prevent progression to septicemia.