Septicaemia due to glucose non-fermenting, Gram-negative bacilli other than Pseudomonas aeruginosa in children

Bloodstream infections due to non-fermenting Gram-negative bacilli other than Pseudomonas aeruginosa (NF-GNB) are uncommon in children but their incidence is reported to be increasing. The aim of this study was to determine the characteristics of such infections in children in a London teaching hospital. All paediatric patients with positive NF-GNB blood cultures and clinical evidence of sepsis between July 1995 and June 2000 were included in the study. A total of 10278 blood cultures was performed, of which 356 (3.5%) represented clinically significant episodes of bacteraemia. Of these, 12 (0.1%) were due to NF-GNB. Nine of the 12 (75%) patients were receiving haemodialysis for end-stage renal failure (ESRF). Only one patient was receiving immunosuppressive therapy and none was neutropenic or had any malignancy. An intravascular catheter was identified as the focus of infection in all 12 cases. Stenotrophomonas maltophilia was the most common organism isolated (67%). Six patients were successfully treated with antibiotics alone. Four others received antibiotics, but also required line removal, and two patients responded to line removal without the need for antibiotics. Conclusion: An association was found between ESRF and NF-GNB infections, possibly related to the requirement for long-term catheters for dialysis. Antibiotic treatment alone was only successful in half the cases of catheter-related NF-GNB septicaemia, while removal of the infected catheter ensured complete cure in the cases where antibiotic treatment alone did not suffice.