Inquilinus limosus in pulmonary disease: case report and review of the literature

- Individuals with lung disease other than cystic fibrosis may be at risk for I. limosus infection
- The clinical significance of Inquilinus spp. is poorly understood
- Many commercial identification systems are not able to identify I. limosus
- The drug resistant nature of I. limosus should be considered when attempting treatment

Inquilinus limosus is a slow growing, gram-negative, oxidase-positive, non-fermentative bacillus that is rarely isolated from clinical samples. When clinically identified, I. limosus is almost exclusively isolated from the respiratory tracts of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). We report the first case of I. limosus isolation from a pulmonary specimen in an individual without a diagnosis of CF. A review of the English-language literature has been made and shows 33 cases (excluding the present report) in which I. limosus was isolated from the respiratory tracts of patients. Our patient, at 60 years of age, is more than two decades older than the any previously reported patient. Similar to previous reports, the I. limosus isolated from her lungs demonstrated intrinsic multidrug resistance. The pathogenicity, clinical relevance, and optimal therapeutic management of I. limosus remains largely unknown due to its infrequent recovery from clinical samples.