Intravenous line infection due to Ochrobactrum anthropi (CDC Group Vd) in a normal host

Ochrobactrum anthropi, formerly known as Achromobacter species (CDC group Vd), is an aerobic, gramnegative bacillus widely distributed in aquatic environments. Most important, it has been implicated as a cause of intravenous line infection in immunocompromised hosts with solid tumors or hematologic malignancies. Trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and aminoglycosides are usually active against O. anthropi, but this organism is usually resistant to β-lactam antibiotics. Because O. anthropi is a low-virulence organism, patients with intravenous-line infections have been cured without removal of the intravenous catheter. We describe a case of intravenous-line infection in a normal host that was successfully resolved after catheter removal. (Heart Lung® 1997; 26: 335-6)