Achromobacter xylosoxidans: a rare pathogen for community-acquired acute pancreatitis

Achromobacter, an aerobic, non-fermentative, Gram-negative rod is rarely isolated from clinical material. It can be confused with Pseudomonas spp. in clinical specimens, so that its role as a significant pathogen is underestimated. This organism was first described and named by Yabuuchi in 1971. (Yabuuchi & Oyama, 1971). Seven species are currently described within the genus Achromobacter, namely A. xylosoxidans, A. denitrificans, A. insolitus, A. marplatensis, A. piechaudii, A. ruhlandii and A. spanius. However, species identification is difficult using conventional methods, and clinical isolates are generally referred to as A. xylosoxidans. The most common clinical spectrum of A. xylosoxidans infection includes bacteraemia, pneumonia, biliary tract infection, urinary tract infection, wound infection and peritonitis (Aisenberg et al., 2004; Gomez-Cerezo et al., 2003; Legrand & Anaissie, 1992). Ocular infections (Park et al., 2012), community-acquired infections of skin and soft tissues (Tena et al., 2014), osteomyelitis (Walsh et al., 1993) and ventriculitis (Shigeta et al., 1978) are a few of the rarer clinical presentations. Here, we present an unusual case of infectious acute pancreatitis caused by A. xylosoxidans.