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Published on: January 2, 2017

Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae Infections: A Systematic Review of Clinical, Microbiological, and Outcome Data

Nermin Sakru1, Ender Cetinkaya1, Feza Irem Aldi1

  • 1Department of Medical Microbiology, Trakya University School of Medicine, Edirne, Türkiye.

Microbiologyopen
|June 24, 2026
PubMed

Insights

Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp) causes severe invasive infections, often involving multiple organs. This review highlights common clinical features like bloodstream infections and liver involvement, frequently seen in patients from endemic regions with diabetes.

Area of Science:

  • Infectious Diseases
  • Microbiology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Hypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniae (hvKp) is an emerging pathogen causing severe invasive infections.
  • hvKp infections are increasingly associated with multi-organ involvement and significant morbidity.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review and summarize the clinical, microbiological, and outcome characteristics of reported hvKp infections.
  • To identify common patterns and risk factors associated with hvKp infections.

Main Methods:

  • A systematic review adhering to PRISMA guidelines was conducted.
  • Searches were performed in PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science for articles published between 2000 and 2025.
  • Descriptive analyses were performed on individual-level data from 778 cases.

Main Results:

  • Bloodstream infection and liver involvement were frequent clinical presentations.
  • Multi-organ involvement was commonly reported.
  • Most cases originated from or involved travel to endemic regions; diabetes mellitus was a common comorbidity.

Conclusions:

  • This review provides an overview of hvKp infection characteristics, noting frequent clinical and microbiological patterns.
  • Findings are based on heterogeneous, severe cases and require cautious interpretation.
  • Further research with standardized data collection is necessary for better characterization.
Keywords:
bloodstream infectionhvKphypervirulent Klebsiella pneumoniaeinvasive infectionmulti‐organ involvementvirulence factors

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