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Changing Trends of Ralstonia Bacteremia in Patients at a Tertiary Care Center in North India: A 2-Year Retrospective Analysis

Ashima Jamwal Department of Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India

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Gerlin Varghese Department of Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India

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Sarvodaya Tripathy Department of Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India

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Deepika Sarawat Department of Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India

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Sangram Singh Patel Department of Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India

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Mitra Kar Department of Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India

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Nidhi Tejan Department of Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India

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Chinmoy Sahu Department of Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.24-0421
Volume/Issue:
Volume 112: Issue 3
Page(s):
539–543
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ABSTRACT.

Ralstonia species are recently emerging as pathogens of human importance. This study was performed to assess the distribution of Ralstonia species among bacteremia patients and the clinical and demographical factors of these patients. This retrospective observational study was performed in the Microbiology Department of a tertiary care center in North India from April 2022 to April 2024. All in-patients with blood cultures positive for Ralstonia species for the first time during the study period were included in the study. Positive blood cultures were inoculated on blood and MacConkey agar. Identification was done by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization–time of flight mass spectrometry, and antibiotic sensitivity testing was determined by disc diffusion assay. During the study period, 26 isolates of Ralstonia species were identified. R. mannitolilytica was the predominant isolate, followed by R. pickettii. Most patients with Ralstonia bacteremia belonged to the age group of <60 years (n = 20; 78%). The median age of the study population was 62 years. The male-to-female ratio was 1.6:1. Most of the patients presented with complaints of fever (77%), followed by epigastric pain (38.4%). Among the underlying comorbidities, most of the patients with Ralstonia bacteremia had sepsis (73%), followed by multiorgan dysfunction syndrome (30.7%). None of the R. mannitolilytica isolates showed sensitivity to imipenem, meropenem, aztreonam, and ceftazidime. On comparing both the isolates, R. pickettii showed better sensitivity to amikacin, imipenem, meropenem, aztreonam, and ceftazidime than R. mannitolilytica. Overall mortality of the patients in the study was 22% (n = 6).

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Author Notes

Disclosure: All authors have agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. The study design was approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC code: 2022-109-IMP-EXP-35).

Authors’ contributions: A. Jamwal conceived the work and acquired data. G. Varghese conceived the work. S. Tripathy contributed to clinical data collection. D. Sarawat and S. S. Patel analyzed data. M. Kar contributed to methods design. N. Tejan provided critical revisions to the manuscript and important intellectual content. C. Sahu provided final approval of the version to be published.

Current contact information: Ashima Jamwal, Gerlin Varghese, Sarvodaya Tripathy, Deepika Sarawat, Sangram Singh Patel, Mitra Kar, Nidhi Tejan, and Chinmoy Sahu, Department of Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India. E-mails: ashi.jamwal@gmail.com, gerlinvarghese20@gmail.com, sarvo_trip@yahoo.co.in, docdeepika14@gmail.com, sangramresearch968@gmail.com, mitrakar25@gmail.com, nidhiresearchsgpgi@gmail.com, and chinmoyresearch@gmail.com.

Address correspondence to Nidhi Tejan or Chinmoy Sahu, Department of Microbiology, Sanjay Gandhi Postgraduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Lucknow, India 226014. E-mails: nidhiresearchsgpgi@gmail.com or chinmoyresearch@gmail.com
Copyright:
© American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 2025
Received:
24 Jun 2024
|
Accepted:
22 Sep 2024
|
Published Online:
10 Dec 2024
Cover The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Print ISSN:
0002-9637
Online ISSN:
1476-1645
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