Yonsei Med J.  2005 Oct;46(5):700-702. 10.3349/ymj.2005.46.5.700.

A Case of Chromobacterium Infection after Car Accident in Korea

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Laboratory Medicine, KyungHee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. leehejo@khmc.or.kr
  • 2Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, KyungHee University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

Abstract

Chromobacterium violaceum is a gram negative straight rod, 0.8-1.2 by 2.5 to 6.0 m, which is motile by one polar flagella and one to four lateral flagella. The organism inhabits soil and water and is often found in semitropical and tropical climates. Infections in humans are rare. We report a case of infection caused by strains of C. violaceum. A 38-year-old male patient was admitted to KyungHee University Hospital, Seoul, Korea on July 28th, 2003, after a car accident. The patient had multiple trauma and lacerations. He had an open wound in the left tibial area from which C. violaceum was isolated. The strain was resistant to ampicillin, tobramycin, ampicillin/sulbactam, ceftriaxone and cefepime, but was susceptible to amikacin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole and piperacillin/tazobactam. The patient was treated successfully by debridement, cephapirin sodium and astromicine sulfate.

Keyword

Chromobacterium violaceum; wound infection

MeSH Terms

Wound Infection/*etiology
Male
Humans
Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections/*etiology
Chromobacterium/*isolation & purification
Adult
*Accidents, Traffic

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