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Deep neck abscess due to Acinetobacter baumannii infection

Gino Marioni1, Rosario Marchese-Ragona, Caterina Boldrin

  • 1Section of Otolaryngology, Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Padova University, Padova, Italy. gino.marioni@unipd.it

American Journal of Otolaryngology
|December 18, 2009
PubMed

Insights

A rare deep neck abscess caused by multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) was successfully treated. This finding highlights the importance of considering A. baumannii in severe nosocomial infections.

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Critical Care Medicine
  • Microbiology

Background:

  • Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is a significant cause of nosocomial infections, particularly in intensive care units.
  • A. baumannii infections are associated with high mortality rates and can manifest in various forms, including pneumonia and septicemia.
  • Multidrug-resistant strains pose a substantial challenge in clinical management.

Observation:

  • A case of an extremely rare deep neck abscess caused by multidrug-resistant A. baumannii is presented.
  • The patient required surgical intervention (two neck explorations) and antibiotic therapy with tigecycline.

Findings:

  • Repetitive sequence-based polymerase chain reaction (rep-PCR) typing identified the index case's A. baumannii strain.
  • The analysis revealed four distinct strain profiles among hospital isolates during the study period.
  • Profile A was the most prevalent (18 isolates), with the index case representing profile B.

Implications:

  • This case underscores the potential for A. baumannii to cause rare but severe infections like deep neck abscesses.
  • Successful treatment with tigecycline demonstrates a viable therapeutic option for such challenging infections.
  • Understanding strain diversity through molecular typing is crucial for infection control and epidemiological surveillance in healthcare settings.

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