evaluation of sphingomonas paucimobilis as an emerging nosocomial pathogen in a teaching hospital in uttarakhand

Background and objectives: sphingomonas paucimobilis is an opportunistic pathogen and was rarely encountered in clinical specimens previously. this study aimed to investigate the clinical features, associated co-morbidities, and antimicrobial susceptibility patterns of s. paucimobilis infection in a tertiary hospital in uttarakhand. materials and methods: s. paucimobilis isolates cultured from various sections of hospital and opds were identified and analyzed for their antibiograms in the microbiology laboratory for a duration of one year from january 2020 to december 2020. results: s. paucimobilis was isolated from 49 samples (0.01%) out of 3792 samples processed in vitek 2 compact automated id/ast instrument. the maximum number of isolates were obtained from urine samples (31%), followed by blood (24%). septicemia (41%), meningitis (17%), lower respiratory tract infections and ventilator associated pneumonia (14%) constituted a major portion of infections caused by this organism. diabetes mellitus (22%) and steroid usage (16%) were major associated co-morbid conditions. third and fourth generation cephalosporins like ceftriaxone (81%) and cefepime (86%) were found to be the most susceptible drugs whereas 61% of isolates were resistant to colistin. conclusion: this organism is an up-and-coming pathogen and should not be simply labeled as a contaminant. although the organism is not grossly virulent and still might not be associated with serious life-threatening infections; however their evolving resistance patterns and increased spectrum of infections should be seriously taken into account.