Leclercia adecarboxylata infections: case report and review

Leclercia adecarboxylata has been rarely isolated from environmental and clinical specimens. On review of the world literature, we found two reports of L. adecarboxylata infection: one report described a patient with hepatic cirrhosis, and the other described a child dependent on total parenteral nutrition. L. adecarboxylata was isolated from five infected patients who were evaluated at our institution. Three patients had lower-extremity wound infections in which L. adecarboxylata was part of a mixed microbial growth. One patient had pneumonia due to multiple bacteria, including L. adecarboxylata, which were isolated from sputum. L. adecarboxylata was isolated from the blood of one patient with neutropenia and from the blood of the two patients reported in the literature. All patients except one had fever and leukocytosis. L. adecarboxylata isolates were susceptible to all the antimicrobials tested. L. adecarboxylata is most frequently isolated as part of a mixed microbial growth. Its role in these infections is not clear. However, the organism caused bacteremia in three patients.