Infectious conjunctivitis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from a bathroom

BMC Research Notes

Yoshinori Mitamura¹  Sayaka Mitamura¹  Tomomi Kuwahara²  Tatsuro Miyamoto¹  Hiroshi Eguchi¹ 

[1] Department of Ophthalmology, Institute of Health Biosciences, The University of Tokushima Graduate School, 3-18-15, Kuramoto-cho, Tokushima-shi 770-8503, Japan;Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, Kagawa, Japan

关键词: Pulsed-field Gel Electrophoresis;    Bathroom;    Conjunctivitis;    Pseudomonas aeruginosa;   

Others  :  1142377
DOI  :  10.1186/1756-0500-6-245

 received in 2012-09-25, accepted in 2013-06-25,  发布年份 2013

【 摘 要 】

Background

The elucidation of the routes of transmission of a pathogen is crucial for the prevention of infectious diseases caused by bacteria that are not a resident in human tissue. The purpose of this report is to describe a case of suture-related conjunctivitis caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa for which we identified the transmission route using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).

Case presentation

A 38-year-old man, who had undergone surgery for glaucoma 2 years ago previously, presented with redness, discomfort, and mucopurulent discharge in the right eye. A 9–0 silk suture had been left on the conjunctiva. A strain of P. aeruginosa was isolated from a culture obtained from the suture, and the patient was therefore diagnosed with suture-related conjunctivitis caused by P. aeruginosa. The conjunctivitis was cured by the application of an antimicrobial ophthalmic solution and removal of the suture. We used PFGE to survey of the indoor and outdoor environments around the patient’s house and office in order to elucidate the route of transmission of the infection. Three strains of P. aeruginosa were isolated from the patient’s indoor environment, and the isolate obtained from the patient’s bathroom was identical to that from the suture.

Conclusion

The case highlights the fact that an indoor environmental strain of P. aeruginosa can cause ocular infections.

【 授权许可】

   
2013 Eguchi et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

【 图 表 】

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

【 参考文献 】

• [1]Hota B: Contamination, disinfection, and cross-colonization: are hospital surfaces reservoirs for nosocomial infections? Clin Infect Dis 2004, 39:1182-1189.
• [2]Corona-Nakamura AL, Miranda-Novales MG, Leanos-Miranda B, Portillo-Gomez L, Hernadez-Chavez A, Anthor-Rendon J, Aguilar-Benavides S: Epidemiologic study of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in critical patients and reservoirs. Arch Med Res 2001, 32:238-242.
• [3]Yetkin G, Otlu B, Cicek A, Kuzucu C, Durmaz R: Clinical, microbiologic, and epidemiologic characteristics of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in a University Hospital, Malatya, Turkey. Am J Infect Control 2006, 34:188-192.
• [4]Szczotka-Flynn LB, Imamura Y, Chandra J, Yu C, Mukherjee PK, Pearlman E, Ghannoum MA: Increased resistance of contact lens-related bacterial biofilms to antimicrobial activity of soft contact lens care solutions. Cornea 2009, 28:18-26.
• [5]McLaughin-Borlace L, Stapleton F, Matheson M, Dart JKG: Bacterial biofilm on contact lens and lens storage cases in wearers with microbial keratitis. J Appl Microbiol 1998, 84:827-837.
• [6]Ramappa M, Majji AB, Murthy SI, Balne PK, Nalamada S, Garudadri C, Mathai A, Gopinathan U, Garg P: An outbreak of acute post-cataract surgery Pseudomonas sp. endophthalmitis caused by contaminated hydrophilic intraocular lens solution. Ophthalmology 2012, 119:564-570.
• [7]Mateos I, Valencia R, Torres MJ, Cantos A, Conde M, Aznar J: Nosocomial outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa endophthalmitis. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2006, 27:1249-1251.
• [8]Crucian M, Malena M, Amalfitano G, Monti P, Bonomi L: Molecular epidemiology in a cluster of cases of postoperative Pseudomonas aeruginosa endophthalmitis. Clin Infect Dis 1998, 26:330-333.
• [9]Rich RM, Smiddy WE, Davis JL: Infectious scleritis after retinal surgery. Am J Ophthalmol 2008, 145:695-699.
• [10]Chaudhry NA, Tabandeh H, Rosenfeld PJ, Miller D, Davis J: Scleral buckle infection with ciprofloxacin-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Arch Ophthalmol 1998, 116:1251.
• [11]Wirostko WJ, Covert DJ, Han DP, Connor TB Jr, Kim JE, Hammersley J, Lindgren K: Microbiological spectrum of organisms isolated from explanted scleral buckles. Ophthalmic Surg Laser Imaging 2003, 40:201-202.
• [12]Ogushi Y, Eguchi H, Kuwahara T, Hayabuchi N, Kawabata K: Molecular genetic investigations of contaminated contact lens storage cases as reservoirs of Pseudomonas aeruginosa keratitis. Jpn J Ophthalmol 2010, 54:550-554.
• [13]Anaissie EJ, Penzak SR, Dignani MC: The hospital water supply as a source of nosocomial infection: a plea for action. Arch Intern 2002, 162:1483-1492.