Stenotrophomonas maltophilia outbreak originating from a pull-out faucet in a pediatric intensive care unit in Turkey: Insights from clinical records and molecular typing


Yashar M., Basarir K. E., Tanriverdi E. S., Celep S., Sirekbasan L., RAKICI E., ...More

American Journal of Infection Control, vol.52, no.5, pp.605-610, 2024 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 52 Issue: 5
  • Publication Date: 2024
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.ajic.2023.11.018
  • Journal Name: American Journal of Infection Control
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, PASCAL, BIOSIS, CAB Abstracts, CINAHL, EMBASE, Veterinary Science Database
  • Page Numbers: pp.605-610
  • Keywords: Faucet aerator, Genotype, Immunocompromised Patients, Outbreak-investigation, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia bacteremia
  • Istanbul Medipol University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Background: Nosocomial Stenotrophomonas maltophilia-related cases are rising and pose a threat to immunocompromised patients. Twelve patients from our pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) presented with S maltophilia-associated bloodstream infection. Methods: This outbreak investigation includes 12 patients from PICU between the ages of 2 months and 4 years (mean 16 months, 7 male). To identify the origin, samples from all possible sources throughout the hospital were collected and ran through DNA isolation and Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis. Results: 120 samples were collected during the outbreak. 31 samples (26%) were positive for S maltophilia. 30 S maltophilia isolates were analyzed, 10 different genotypes were identified. Clustering isolates were grouped into 3 different clusters (tolerance and optimization 1.0, cutoff 90%). The largest cluster was genotype 1, which included 19 isolates, those belong to patients’ samples and a sample from a pull-out faucet inside the PICU. The Pull-out faucet was the origin of the bloodstream infection. Discussion: Pull-out faucets allow biofilm production, due its structure. Pulse Field Gel Electrophoresis identifies the transmission dynamics of the outbreak, with its high discriminatory power. Conclusions: Water sources should be monitored on a regular basis. Pull-out faucets enable bacterial overgrowth; therefore, we recommend water surveillance during outbreak investigations.