Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Mycobacterium chelonae coinfection of the extraocular scleral buckle explant.
OBJECTIVE
To report a very unusual form of coinfection of the extraocular scleral buckle explant by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Mycobacterium chelonae.


METHODS
Interventional case report.


RESULTS
A 61-year-old man had infected buckle after uneventful retinal reattachment surgery. Culture showed coinfection by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Mycobacterium chelonae. This concomitance is not random but rather fortified virulence of these otherwise facultative pathogens. Organisms responded to broad-spectrum antibiotics.


CONCLUSIONS
The co-inhabitation of these two low-virulence organisms seems to represent an interesting symbiosis with boosting virulence and resistance to host defense, especially in those immunocompromised.
Liu
David T L
DT
Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR. david_tlliu@yahoo.com
Lee
Vincent Y W
VY
Chi-Lai
Li
L
Lam
Dennis S C
DS
D000583:Amikacin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017291:Clarithromycin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination; D015818:Eye Infections, Bacterial / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D015378:Imipenem / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009165:Mycobacterium Infections, Nontuberculous / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D016926:Mycobacterium chelonae / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016459:Prosthesis-Related Infections / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology*; D012163:Retinal Detachment / Q000601:surgery; D012591:Scleral Buckling / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020615:Stenotrophomonas maltophilia / Q000302:isolation & purification*
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D015378:Imipenem; D000583:Amikacin; D017291:Clarithromycin