Bacteremia due to Acinetobacter species other than Acinetobacter baumannii

The objective of this study was to describe the clinical features, possible predisposing factors and treatment outcomes associated with bacteremia du to Acinetobacter species other than Acinetobacter baumannii. A review of laboratory and medical charts over a period of 18 months revealed 61 cases of bacteremia due to Acinetobacter species other than A. baumannii occurring in 59 patients. Six of these were considered not significant. Fifty cases represented catheter-related bacteremia, one case was associated with meningitis following brain surgery, and four cases could not be classified. Clinical courses wre usually benign: all but four patients were cured, but death was not related to Acinetobacter bacteremia in any case. Therapy included catheter removal alone (32.8%), appropriate antimicrobials alone (12.7%), or both (49.1%). Plasmid analysis showed distinct patterns in all strains isolated from different patients and did not reveal any epidemiological relationship among cases. Acinetobacter species other than A. baumannii are clinically significant organisms with limited pathogenic potential. They are almost exclusively involved in devise-related bacteremia. Clinical and epidemiological features of infections due to these organisms are clearly distinct from infections due to A. baumannii.