title: Successful treatment of Chromobacterium violaceum sepsis in South Africa.
abstract: Chromobacterium violaceum sepsis is extremely rare and usually fatal. A very few cases of C. violaceum infection have been reported from Africa, but never from South Africa. As far as could be ascertained, this infection has never been reported in a patient with leukaemia. We describe what we believe to be the first such case of C. violaceum sepsis, in a 16-year-old female patient with acute biphenotypic leukaemia, which developed during the neutropenic phase after intensive chemotherapy. The infection was due to a non-pigmented strain of C. violaceum and was associated with a co-infection with Candida parapsilosis; both were successfully treated using broad-spectrum antibiotics, antifungals and removal of a Hickman line.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Bosch
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Badenhorst
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Microbiology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Le Roux
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Haematology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.
authors.forename: V J
authors.initials: VJ
authors.lastname: Louw
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000935:Antifungal Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D002177:Candidiasis / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D002861:Chromobacterium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005260:Female; D016905:Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000150:complications; D009503:Neutropenia / Q000150:complications; D018805:Sepsis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000382:microbiology; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D000935:Antifungal Agents