Burkholderia gladioli sinonasal infection

Burkholderia gladioli are non-fermenting, Gram-negative, rod-shaped aerobic bacteria that were first identified as a plant pathogen. Most of the B. gladioli infections reported in the literature have involved immunocompromised adults and newborn infants. B. gladioli in humans is often associated with a poor prognosis.

We describe the first case of sinonasal infection due to B. gladioli and Staphylococcus aureus in an immunocompetent patient who had recently travelled to the Congo.

As in the few other reported cases involving immunocompetent patients, the appropriate approach to this multidrug-resistant B. gladioli infection was a combination of surgery and antibiotics chosen in the light of an antibiogram.