Stenotrophomonas maltophilia bacteremia in end-stage renal disease patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis

Abstract

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is typically a low-virulence gram-negative bacterium but can become pathogenic in patients in immunocompromised states and can cause nosocomial infections in the presence of invasive medical devices such as central venous catheters, peritoneal catheters, endotracheal/tracheostomy tubes, and urinary catheters, resulting in a variety of infections. End-stage renal disease patients are immunocompromised, and S. maltophilia bacteremia has been reported in patients receiving peritoneal dialysis via peritoneal catheters. A significant number of patients receive hemodialysis via central venous catheters, which present a high risk for S. maltophilia infection, but to our knowledge, no case has been reported.