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Presentation
A 71-year-old male develops acute respiratory distress 4 weeks after a bone marrow transplant. The patient experiences fever, tachycardia and worsening mentation. Blood and respiratory cultures reveal a gram-negative bacillus, which was not identified by rapid respiratory and blood culture molecular panels. The microorganism is a non-lactose fermenter, and colonies are smooth and slightly raised on blood agar. There is also a notable dirt-like smell.
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Author Information
Eric Ransom, Ph.D., D(ABMM), Assistant Professor of Pathology, Case Western Reserve University, Assistant Medical Director of Clinical Microbiology, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.Stay up to date on all ASM Clinical Public Health Microbiology (CPHM) activities when you sign up for our monthly CPHM Newsletter. Be the first to know about free educational webinars, continuing education credit opportunities, advocacy, updated guidelines and more.