Clinical characteristics and outcomes of bacteraemic melioidosis in a teaching hospital in a northeastern state of Malaysia: a five-year review

BACKGROUND: Melioidosis is an important public health problem causing community acquired sepsis in the northeastern part of Malaysia.

METHODOLOGY: From January 2001 to December 2005, we reviewed case reports of all bacteraemic melioidosis admitted to a tertiary teaching hospital, Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia.

RESULTS: Thirty-five patients had positive blood culture for meliodosis and 27 case reports were traceable for further analysis. The mean age was 46.8 + 20.0 years. Twenty patients (74.1%) were male. The main clinical presentation was fever that occurred in 23 (85.2%) patients. Eighteen patients (66.7%) had lung involvement and three patients had liver abscess. Two patients presented with scrotal swelling, one of whom further developed Fournier's Gangrene. Nineteen (70.4%) patients had underlying diabetes, five of whom were newly diagnosed during the admission. Thirteen (48.1%) patients were treated with high-dose ceftazidime and six (22.2%) patients were treated with imipenem. Eight (29.6%) patients were not given anti-melioidosis therapy because the causative agents were not identified until after the patients died. The patients were admitted 16.8 days + 18.1. Seventeen patients (63.0%) died in this series, 13 patients of whom died within four days of admission.

CONCLUSIONS: The wide range of clinical presentations and the fatal outcomes of melioidosis require a high level of suspicion among physicians to develop an early appropriate therapy and reduce the mortality rate.