Metallo-β-lactamase-producing Klebsiella pneumoniae infection in a non-hospital environment

CaseA 92-year-old female resident at a nursing home was transported to the emergency department unconscious, hypotensive, and febrile. Chest X-rays and computed tomography revealed a permeation shadow in the right lung. The patient was diagnosed with sepsis due to pneumonia. At the time of admission, she had not received antibiotics or treatment using medical devices over the past 6 months. Two sets of samples were taken for blood and sputum cultures, and Klebsiella pneumoniae was isolated from all cultures. The strain was identified as metallo-β-lactamase-producing K. pneumoniae, and the patient was successfully treated with tazobactam-piperacillin. This case indicates that metallo-β-lactamase-producing K. pneumoniae infection occurred in a non-hospital environment. OutcomeAfter tazobactam-piperacillin treatment, the patient was transferred to another hospital. ConclusionEmergency physicians should be aware of multidrug-resistant bacterial infection even in a non-hospital setting.