Catheter-related bloodstream Mycobacterium wolinskyi infection in an umbilical cord blood transplant recipient: a case report

BMC Infect Dis. 2022 Jun 4;22(1):520. doi: 10.1186/s12879-022-07495-z.

Abstract

Background: Catheter-related bloodstream infection (CRBSI), caused by rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM), is a rare infectious complication in hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) recipients and can often be misdiagnosed as Gram-positive rod (GPR) bacteremia.

Case presentation: We present a case of CRBSI caused by Mycobacterium wolinskyi, a rare RGM, in a 44-year-old female patient who received an umbilical cord blood transplant.

Conclusions: Rapidly growing mycobacteria can stain as GPRs and may grow in routine blood culture media after 3-4 days of incubation. These features are not widely known to clinicians, and acid-fast staining is therefore recommended when unidentifiable GPRs are detected in blood cultures, especially in immunocompromised patients, such as those with hematologic malignancies or intravascular devices.

Keywords: Case report; Mycobacterium wolinskyi; Rapidly growing mycobacteria; Umbilical cord blood transplant; Unidentifiable Gram-positive rods.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Bacteremia* / diagnosis
  • Bacteremia* / microbiology
  • Catheters
  • Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplantation* / adverse effects
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Mycobacteriaceae
  • Mycobacterium Infections* / microbiology
  • Mycobacterium*

Supplementary concepts

  • Mycolicibacterium wolinskyi