Abstract
Stenotrophomonas maltophilia is a Gram-negative bacterium, usually considered a nosocomial pathogen. Its role in community-acquired infections has been reported, but it is still not typically included in differential diagnoses of patients not exposed to the healthcare system. Recently, some reports suggested that liver diseases might also act as a possible risk factor for community-acquired S. maltophilia bloodstream infection. We report a case of a 77-year-old woman with a history of cirrhosis who was diagnosed with community-acquired S. maltophilia bloodstream infection. S. maltophilia not only causes hospital-acquired infections but is also emerging as a pathogen in community settings. Although community-onset infection is still rare and might have lower mortality, this antibiotic-resistant bacterial species should be considered a possible pathogen in patients with liver cirrhosis. Although trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole is considered the first-line treatment, a study in vitro and a 4-year review of S. maltophilia susceptibility in our institution found that the bacteria were more susceptible to minocycline than to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Therefore, minocycline might become the first-line treatment in the future.