Achromobacter spp. Surgical Site Infections: A Systematic Review of Case Reports and Case Series

Abstract

Achromobacter species are isolated from rare but severe healthcare-associated infections, including surgical site infections. They are considered to preferentially infect immunocompromised patients but so far with limited evidence. We conducted a systematic review on Achromobacter spp. surgical site infections (SSIs) to determine if such infections were indeed more commonly associated with immunocompromised patients. The secondary objective was to describe the characteristics of infected patients. Eligible articles had to be published before 30 September 2020 and to report Achromobacter spp. SSIs across all surgical specialties excluding ophthalmology. Analyses were performed on individual data without meta-analysis. Cases were divided into 2 subgroups: one group which had either prosthesis or implant and the other group which did not. A first selection led to a review of 94 articles, of which 37 were analyzed. All were case reports or case series and corresponded to 49 infected patients. Most of the patients were under 65 years of age and had undergone a heart or digestive surgery followed by deep infection with no co-infecting pathogens. Nine out of the 49 cases were immunocompromised, with similar distribution between the two subgroups (16.6% and 20%, respectively). This review suggests that Achromobacter spp. SSIs do not preferentially target immunocompromised patients.