Late-onset sepsis caused by Leclercia adecarboxylata in a preterm neonate: case report and literature review / 中华围产医学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To summarize the clinical characteristics of neonatal late-onset sepsis (LOS) caused by Leclercia adecarboxylata, and provide evidence for its diagnosis and treatment. Methods:We report a case of Leclercia adecarboxylata induced LOS in a male preterm neonate diagnosed by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) at the Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University. Relavant literature was retrieved from Wanfang, VIP, CNKI, and PubMed databases up to April 2021, using terms including "neonate" "sepsis" and " Leclercia adecarboxylata". Results:The patient presented with dyspnea immediately after birth with gestational age of 34 +3 weeks and birth weight of 2 050 g. After admission at 14 min after birth, he was incubated at temperature of 33-35 ℃ and humidity of 50%-60% and received active treatment, consisting of nasal continuous positive airway pressure, tracheal intubation, intratracheal injection of pulmonary surfactant, invasive mechanical ventilation, and anti-infective treatment with piperacillin, cefoperazone/sulbactam, and meropenem. However, the patient developed LOS on day 11 of life and eventually died of disseminated intravascular coagulation and multiple organs failure despite volume expansion, anti-infective therapy, and respiratory support. The blood culture was positive for Gram-negative rod and confirmed as a multi-drug resistant strain of Leclercia adecarboxylata. Two cases of LOS caused by sensitive strain of Leclercia adecarboxylata in premature female infants were retrieved in the literature with atypical symptoms, of whom one was successfully treated and one died after active treatment. Conclusions:Leclercia adecarboxylata infection alone can lead to LOS in preterm infants without typical manifestations. MALDI-TOF MS is helpful for the diagnosis and rational application of antibiotics.