Awarness of the importance of Serratia marcescens as an opportunistic pathogen
causing nosocomial infections lead us to use deoxyribonuclease and tween 80 hydrolysis
tests to identify this organism from our clinical specimens. From 56 patients Serratia
marcescens were isolated during the period of Feburuary to October, 1977. Among these
56 cases, 43 were reviewed and the following results were obtained.
1. Serratia marcescens were frequently isolated from patients with age groups of both
40-49, and 60 or over. The male to female ratio was 3 : 1.
2. The isolation was frequently from respiratory, woulld and urine specimens. There
were two serious patients; one yielded the organism from blood and the other from
spinal fluid.
3. The patients yielding the organisms were found to have predisposing factors such
as various debilitating disorders, surgical procedures and urinary catheterizations.
4. Thirty eight out of the 43 were hospitalized patients and remaining 5 were
outpatients with previous hospitalizations. This fact is highly suggestive of the
nosocomial nature of the infections.
5. At the time of bacterial culture, 34 patients had been receiving single or multip!e
antibiotics, suggesting the relationship of the infections an4 the antibioic administrations.
6. In 10 patients, the organisms were solely isolated indicating their etiological
significance. From the rest of the patients other organisms were also isolated together
with Serratia marcescens.
Serrtia infections were thought to be rare previously, but it was obviously wrong and
perhaps it was due to the difficulty of their correct identification. The infections are
frequent among long standing inpatients particulary in aged persons with various
underlying disorders. A correct identification and a proper susceptibility testing should
be considered imperative for both prevention of new infections and adequate treatment
of the patients.
|