Pseudomonas cepacia septicemia associated with intravenous therapy

Four cases of Pseudomonas cepacia septicemia were found in one hospital in 1971. Two were related to severe phlebitis of the arms due to intravenous catheters, a third to an infected central venous pressure catheter. The infections resolved after the catheters were removed in these three cases. Prophylactic antibiotics may play a partial role in predisposing to this kind of infection. Ps. cepacia may be a more common pathogen than previously recognized. Its antibiotic sensitivity pattern distinguishes it from other members of the Pseudomonas family. Nosocomial infection with this bacteria has been traced to quaternary ammonium solutions but the source of infections in the present cases was not found.