A Case of Severe Community-acquired Acinetobacter baumannii Pneumonia with Bacteremia

ABSTRACT

Acinetobacter baumannii is a significant pathogen in nosocomial infections, especially in intensive care units. However, community-acquired A. baumannii (CAAB) pneumonia is an uncommon disease. Most of the CAAB pneumonia in the literature is characterized by an abrupt onset and rapid progression to respiratory failure and hemodynamic instability. In our case, a 51-year-old man without underlying diseases developed severe pneumonia. Respiratory distress rapidly worsened and mechanical ventilation was applied. Extra-corporeal membrane oxygenation was applied due to refractory septic shock. Fully sensitive A. baumannii pneumonia was confirmed by the sputum culture and blood culture. The patient was effectively treated by the meropenem. However, the patient died of uncontrolled ventilator-associated pneumonia, developed on the 10th hospital day, and refractory septic shock. We report the case of severe CAAB pneumonia with bacteremia in a patient without underlying diseases in Korea.