Introduction: Ralstonia pickettii is a non-fermenting gram-negative bacillus rarely associated with hospital-acquired infections. The study aimed to characterise the clinical profile and outcomes of R. pickettii bacteremia cases.
Methodology: We retrospectively reviewed the hospital records to collect the details of the clinical profile and outcomes of patients with R. pickettii bacteremia between March and November 2021.
Results: Twenty-four patients were found to have Ralstonia pickettii bacteremia between March and May 2021. The cases were distributed across the hospital. All isolates were found to have similar antimicrobial susceptibility. The same organism with similar susceptibility was found to be in distilled water used to prepare in-house disinfectant and antiseptic agents. Commercial preparations replaced in-house solutions all over the hospital as a corrective measure. The distilled water tank was renovated, and repeat samples were found to be satisfactory. There were no further reports of Ralstonia pickettii between May and November 2021.
Conclusion: We report this to highlight the possibility of infection with this rare pathogen and to increase awareness of the importance of appropriate infection control measures.
Keywords: Bacteremia; Hospital outbreak; Infection control; Low-virulence; Ralstonia pickettii.
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