Successful treatment of two cases of Elizabethkingia meningoseptica septicemia and a review of the literature

Elizabethkingia meningoseptica is emerging as a cause of hospital acquired infection particularly in immunocompromised adults. The treatment of this bacterium is difficult since it is intrinsically resistant to a number of antibiotics. Here we report two cases of septicemia in patients who were critically ill and were successfully treated with appropriate antibiotics. Cotrimoxazole, quinolones, and rifampicin seem to be drugs effective against E. meningoseptica. Antibiotic susceptibility results are ineffective in guiding treatment. The bacterium particularly colonizes water pipelines and tap faucets and occurrence of infection by this bacterium should direct attention towards eradicating the source of this bacterium.