Emerging pathogens in cystic fibrosis: ten years of follow-up in a cohort of patients

• Published in: European journal of clinical microbiology & infectious diseases Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 191 - 195
• Main Authors: Spicuzza, L, Sciuto, C, Vitaliti, G, Di Dio, G, Leonardi, S, La Rosa, M
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Berlin/Heidelberg : Springer-Verlag 01-02-2009; Springer-Verlag; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Achromobacter; Achromobacter denitrificans - isolation & purification; Adolescent; Adult; Antibiotics; Bacteria - isolation & purification; Bacterial Infections - complications; Bacterial Infections - epidemiology; Bacterial Infections - microbiology; Biological and medical sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Burkholderia cepacia complex - isolation & purification; Child; Child, Preschool; Concise Article; Cystic fibrosis; Cystic Fibrosis - complications; Data Interpretation, Statistical; Epidemiology; Errors of metabolism; Female; Humans; Infant; Infectious diseases; Internal Medicine; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Medical Microbiology; Medical prognosis; Medical sciences; Metabolic diseases; Miscellaneous hereditary metabolic disorders; Pathogens; Patients; Prevalence; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - isolation & purification; Respiratory Function Tests; Sputum - microbiology; Staphylococcus aureus - isolation & purification; Staphylococcus infections; Stenotrophomonas maltophilia - isolation & purification; Tobramycin; Cystic Fibrosis; Mycobacterium Avium; Sputum Sample; Burkholderia Cepacia; Human; Infection; Microbiology; Respiratory disease; Metabolic diseases; Digestive diseases; Cystic fibrosis; Genetic disease; Pancreatic disease
• ISSN: 0934-9723; 1435-4373
• DOI: 10.1007/s10096-008-0605-4

In patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), there is an increasing incidence of some uncommon respiratory pathogens, such as Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia, and Achromobacter xylosoxidans. In order to evaluate the prevalence and the clinical impact of these pathogens, we retrospectively studied a total of 109 patients followed in our center from 1996 to 2006 and reviewed the results of 1,550 sputum samples. The isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa slightly decreased over the observed decade, whereas Staphylococcus aureus exhibited an irregular trend. Infection with Bcc reached a peak in 1998 and successively decreased to a stable 4%. S. maltophilia and A. xylosoxidans were the real emerging pathogens, since first isolation occurred in 2004; however, the percentage of infected patients remained low (7% and 3.2%, respectively) through the years. In conclusion, in our center for CF, the reduced prevalence of P. aeruginosa over the last decade has been associated with a concurrent reduction of infections by Bcc and, as compared to other centers in Italy, Europe, and the US, with a low incidence of emerging pathogens such as S. maltophilia and A. xylosoxidans.