Introduction: Aeromonas spp. typically cause gastroenteritis, but can occasionally produce extraintestinal infections. The aim of this study was to determine the clinical and microbiological characteristics of extraintestinal infections caused by Aeromonas spp. in our area.
Patients and methods: The clinical histories of patients with extraintestinal infections by Aeromonas spp. diagnosed in Hospital Universitario de Guadalajara (Guadalajara, Spain) from January 1990 to December 2005 were reviewed. Identification and susceptibility testing of the strains were performed by the MicroScan WalkAway-40 automated method (DadeBerhing).
Results: Thirty-eight cases of extraintestinal infections were diagnosed: 18 abdominal infections, 11 skin and soft tissue infections, 3 urinary tract infections, and 3 episodes of bacteremia with no primary focus. The species most frequently found was A. hydrophila (16 cases). Infection occurred most often in patients with underlying diseases (76.3%), including malignancy (34.2%) and diabetes mellitus (21%). Polymicrobial infections were detected in 50% and the etiology was nosocomial in 21%. The mortality rate was 16.2%. Gentamicin, amikacin, cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin had the highest activity against the Aeromonas species isolated.
Conclusions: Aeromonas spp. as the causative infectious agent should be kept in mind in patients with infections of the biliary system, surgical wounds in the abdomen and posttraumatic cellulitis. Extraintestinal infection is usually polymicrobial, appears most commonly in patients with underlying diseases, and generally has a good prognosis. The most active antibiotics in vitro were gentamicin, amikacin, cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin.