Acute and Critical Care

Case Report

Infection/Pulmonary
Lung Transplantation in a Patient with Pre-transplant Colonization of Extensively Drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii: Hwa Young Lee, Hea Yon Lee, Sae Bom Shin, Kab Soo Shin, Bong Woo Lee, Hwan Wook Kim, Seok Lee, Seok Chan Kim; Korean J Crit Care Med. 2015;30(2):103-108. Published online May 31, 2015; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2015.30.2.103

Abstract PDF: Colonization of the pre-transplant lung by multidrug-resistant bacteria affects short- and long-term outcomes of lung transplantation. However, there are no case reports on the colonization of a pre-transplant lung by drug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii. We report a case of extensively drug resistant (XDR) A. baumannii colonization in the tracheobronchial tree that caused severe infectious complications after bilateral lung transplantation. A 23-year-old man diagnosed with bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) 4 years earlier with a history of allogenic bone marrow transplantation for acute lymphoblastic leukemia was admitted to the hospital with dyspnea. Due to progressive hypercapnic respiratory failure, long-term mechanical ventilation was started after a tracheostomy was performed, and the patient underwent a bilateral lung transplantation to treat end-stage BOS. After the transplantation, the colonization of XDR A. baumannii caused severe bacterial pneumonia in the early postoperative period. Combined treatment with colistin and meropenem led to recovery from the pneumonia but caused drug-induced renal failure. Because many centers are willing to transplant candidates who are on mechanical ventilation or extracorporeal life support, the incidence of XDR A. baumannii colonization of pretransplant lungs is expected to increase. Further studies are needed to examine pre-transplant management strategies in patients colonized with XDR A. baumannii.

Original Article

Clinical Characteristics in Patients with Carbapenem-Resistant Acinetobacter baumannii Isolates from Tracheal Secretions: Jeong Ha Mok, Mi Hyun Kim, Kwangha Lee, Ki Uk Kim, Hye Kyung Park, Min Ki Lee; Korean J Crit Care Med. 2013;28(3):173-179.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4266/kjccm.2013.28.3.173

Abstract PDF: BACKGROUND
This study was conducted to evaluate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of mechanically ventilated patients with carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) isolates from tracheal secretions in a medical intensive care unit (ICU) of a university hospital.
METHODS
We conducted a retrospective study from January 2009 to June 2012.
RESULTS
Among the patients who had isolates cultured from tracheal secretions, 130 patients (34.8%) had CRAB isolates. Their mean age was 65 +/- 14 yr and 74.6% were male. The ICU and hospital mortality was 51.5% and 60.0%, respectively. According to physician's clinical decision, antibiotics were changed in order to cover CRAB in 75 (57.7%) patients. The total duration of antibiotics use was 12.2 +/- 8.1 days. Of patients with antibiotics change to cover CRAB, 70 patients (93.3%) had Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score of 6 and over. However, there was no significant difference in hospital mortality between patients with antibiotics change against CRAB and those without change. In multivariable analysis, only Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score was related to hospital mortality of patients with CRAB.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, changing antibiotics to cover CRAB by physician's clinical decision only did not influence hospital mortality; further studies would be necessary to investigate how to use antibiotics against CRAB isolates cultured from tracheal secretions.

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