Opportunistic and Emerging Infections due to Stenotrophomonas maltophilia: A Single-center 2-Years Study from North India

Background and Aim: Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a globally emerging environmental Gram-negative multidrug-resistant bacterium. It is most commonly associated with respiratory infections among immunocompromised individuals. This pathogen was previously considered nonpathogenic as its association with the clinical conditions was not known. Now, its association has been reported with various clinical conditions, specifically serious respiratory infections. This study was conducted to observe the association of S. maltophilia with various clinical conditions, risk factors, and its antimicrobial susceptibility pattern. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the department of microbiology of a tertiary care medical teaching institute from North India for a period of 2 years. The various clinical samples were subjected to culture using standard culture media. The colonies of isolated pathogens were presumptively identified by conventional microbiological procedures followed by species-level identification and antimicrobial susceptibility testing by the VITEK 2 compact automated system. Results: A total of 62 S. maltophilia isolates were isolated during the study period of 2 years. The majority of the isolates were isolated from various respiratory samples, comprising 74%. The resistance against cotrimoxazole was highest, comprising 37% of the isolates, followed by 27% against levofloxacin. Most of the isolates were sensitive against minocycline. Conclusion: S. maltophilia is an emerging infection, especially in the hospital environment, and is associated most commonly with respiratory infections. The intrinsically resistant nature of this pathogen against most of the commonly used antibiotics poses a major challenge for healthcare professionals.