Sphingomonas paucimobilis: A rare infectious agent found in cerebrospinal fluid

Abstract

Sphingomonas paucimobilis (S. paucimobilis) is a gram negative bacillus. It has existed in soil, drinking water and plants. It has been isolated from distilled water tanks, respirators, and hemodialysis devices at the hospital setting. Patients with chronic disorders or immune suppression may be susceptible to infections with it. This microorganism has also been reported to infect healthy persons. Both nosocomial and community-acquired infections have been reported. So far, a variety of infections have been reported, including sepsis, septic pulmonary embolism, septic arthritis, peritonitis, and endophthalmitis. Only 2 cases of meningitis have been reported so far in the literature. So far, no previous reports of culture proliferation have been reported in patients with external ventricular drains, as was the case in our patient. Therefore, our case is the first to have S. paucimobilis proliferation in cerebrospinal fluid culture during intensive care unit stay for an external ventricular drain.