Delftia acidovorans: A rare cause of septic pulmonary embolism from catheter-related infection: Case report and literature review

• Main Authors: Dharti Patel, Arshad Muhammad Iqbal, Ateeq Mubarik, Nirali Vassa, Rania Godil, Mohamad Saad, Salman Muddassir
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier 2019-01-01
• Series: Respiratory Medicine Case Reports
• Online Access: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213007119300565

Septic pulmonary emboli is a rare condition due to the dislodgement of an infected thrombus traveling to the pulmonary vasculature via the venous system. Staphylococcus spp. and Candida spp. are the most common causative agents. The most common risk factor is intravenous drug abuse, but there has been an association with intravenous catheters. Delftia acidovorans (DA) is a rare organism causing catheter-related infection, which has a tendency to embolize and clog up major vessels. It is highly resistant to all available aminoglycoside agents. There are only a few cases reported in children showing DA as a cause of septic emboli with none of the cases reported in a young patient. We report a similar case but in a young adult who developed septic emboli due to DA that was caused by an infected peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line. Since the organism is highly susceptible to recurrent embolization, the PICC line was removed and the patient was treated successfully with an appropriate antibiotic regime. Keywords: Septic pulmonary emboli (SPE), Delftia acidovorans (DA), Sepsis, Pulmonary nodules