Patients with Acinetobacter baumannii bloodstream infections are colonized in the gastrointestinal tract with identical strains
published online 07 June 2010. Corrected Proof
In this study, we identified critically ill patients with Acinetobacter baumannii bacteremia and examined perirectal surveillance cultures for the presence of genetically related A baumannii strains using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis to determine whether gut colonization preceded clinical infection. Seven patients with imipenem-resistant A baumannii bacteremia were identified from January to June of 2008. Six of 7 (86%) patients were colonized in the gastrointestinal tract with genetically similar strains preceding their bacteremia.
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
Address correspondence to Kerri A. Thom, MD, MS, Division of Healthcare Outcomes Research, Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 100 N Greene St, Lower Level, Baltimore, MD 21201.
Supported by the University of Maryland General Clinical Research Center grant M01 RR 16500, General Clinical Research Centers Program, National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), National Institutes of Health; by the National Institutes of Health (R01 AI60859-01A1 and 1K24AI079040-01A1; to A.D.H.); by National Institutes of Health grant 1K12RR023250-03 (to J.K.J.); and by the University of Maryland Internal Funds (to D.A.R.).
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