Chryseobacterium/Elizabethkingia species infections in children

Objective: To investigate the clinical and epidemiological features and outcome of Chryseobacterium and Elizabethkingia spp. infections in children, together with antimicrobial susceptibilities. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at a tertiary pediatric hospital in Turkey. All patients infected with Chryseobacterium/Elizabethkingia spp. among those presenting to Ankara City Hospital between March 2014 and March 2022 were included. Results: A total of 49 cases were included and 29 cases were identified as Elizabethkingia. The median age was 14 (0.2-185.0) months. The majority (89.8%) of these patients had an underlying disease, including malignancy (42.9%). Bacteremia (46.9%) and central line-associated bloodstream infection (28.6%) were the most common infections. The thirty-day all-cause mortality rate was 12.2%. The most commonly used antibiotics were ciprofloxacin and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX). Forty-five (91.8%) isolates were susceptible to ciprofloxacin, 44 (91.6%) to TMP-SMX, and 21 (87.5%) to levofloxacin. Conclusions: Chryseobacterium and Elizabethkingia spp. are emergent, nosocomial pathogens and the majority of cases were older than the neonatal period. They were mainly seen in patients with long hospital stays, indwelling devices, and those who have received antibiotics within the last month, especially carbapenems. In addition, they were associated with bloodstream infection and malignancy. The most commonly useful antibiotics according to the resistance patterns were ciprofloxacin and TMP-SMX.