Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to examine the clinical and laboratory features, antibiotic susceptibilities, treatment characteristics, and outcomes of pediatric patients with Sphingomonas paucimobilis bacteremia.

Material and Methods: This single-center, retrospective study included patients aged between 1 month and 18 years who were treated for Sphingomonas paucimobilis bacteremia between September 2019 and December 2022.

Results: The study population included 12 pediatric patients with S. paucimobilis bacteremia. The median age of the patients was 28.5 months (range 7-215 months) and 50% were male. All patients had hospital-acquired infections (HAIs). The presence of comorbidities such as hematological-oncological malignancies, neurological disorders, burns and immunological disorders, the presence of a central venous catheter and a history of hospitalization within the last 12 months were prominent risk factors. Bacterial isolates were susceptible at different rates to antibiotics used as follows: piperacillin-tazobactam (83.3%), ceftazidime (91.7%), cefepime (91.7%) and meropenem (100%). The patients were treated with meropenem, cefepime, ceftazidime and piperacillin-tazobactam and the median duration of systemic antibiotic treatment was 10 days (range 10-14 days). Central venous catheters (CVCs) were removed in 3 patients who developed catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSIs). Persistent bacteremia, recurrence and 30-day mortality were not observed in any patient.

Conclusion: Sphingomonas paucimobilis remains an important opportunistic pathogen of hospital-acquired bacteremia, especially in children with risk factors. Successful treatment seems possible with systemic antibiotic therapy and removal of CVC in the presence of CRBSI.

Keywords: Antibiotic susceptibility, Bacteremia, Children, Sphingomonas paucimobilis, Treatment

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Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

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1.
Güneş Ö, Özkaya Parlakay A, Güney AY, Coşkun ZN, Üçkardeş F, Yahşi A, et al. Clinical characteristics, antibiotic susceptibilities, treatment characteristics and outcomes in pediatric patients with Sfingomonas paucimobilis bacteremia. Turk J Pediatr Dis [Internet]. 2025 Jul. 2 [cited 2025 Jul. 7];:1-8. Available from: https://turkjpediatrdis.org/article/view/1113