Hostname: page-component-77f85d65b8-h52fh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-03-26T10:41:20.970Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Melioidosis in a patient with chronic rhinosinusitis

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 August 2016

N M Phillips ,
A Cervin ,
J Earnshaw  and
H E Sidjabat
N M Phillips*
Affiliation:
ENT Department, Rockhampton Hospital, Queensland, Australia
A Cervin
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Queensland, Australia Otolaryngology (Rhinology), Faculty of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
J Earnshaw
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Royal Brisbane and Women's Hospital, Queensland, Australia
H E Sidjabat
Affiliation:
Infection and Immunity Research Theme, University of Queensland Centre for Clinical Research, Brisbane, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Nicholas M Phillips, PO Box 1676, Noosa Heads, Queensland, Australia E-mail: Nicholas.phillips@uqconnect.edu.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

Melioidosis is a serious infection caused by soil-dwelling Gram-negative bacillus Burkholderia pseudomallei. It is most commonly reported in Northern Australia, Southeast and Southern Asia, China, and Taiwan.

Methods:

A case report and short review of the literature are presented. Presentation, diagnosis including genomic sequencing, and acute and long-term management are discussed.

Results:

A 58-year-old female presented with chronic rhinosinusitis secondary to melioidosis. This is the third reported incidence of sinusitis secondary to melioidosis, which occurred in an otherwise well female with no risk factors and no apparent cause of exposure. Treatment involved an acute phase in which meropenem was administered parenterally for two weeks, followed by a prolonged oral course of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for three months, as per recommended guidelines.

Conclusion:

In patients presenting with refractory chronic rhinosinusitis, ENT surgeons should consider the presence of unusual causative pathogens such as B pseudomallei, particularly in those with recent travel history to Northern Queensland and/or Southeast Asia.

Keywords

Burkholderia PseudomalleiMelioidosisRhinitisSinusitis

Information

Type
Clinical Record
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 130 , Supplement S4 , July 2016 , pp. S60 - S62
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

1 Whitmore, A. An account of a Glanders-like disease occurring in Rangoon. J Hyg (Lond) 1913;13:1–34.1CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2 Yabuuchi, E, Kosako, Y, Oyaizu, H, Yano, I, Hotta, H, Hashimoto, Y et al. Proposal of Burkholderia gen. nov. and transfer of seven species of the genus Pseudomonas homology group II to the new genus, with the type species Burkholderia cepacia (Palleroni and Holmes 1981) comb. nov. Microbiol Immunol 1992;36:1251–75Google Scholar
3 Cheng, AC, Currie, BJ. Melioidosis: epidemiology, pathophysiology, and management. Clin Microbiol Rev 2005;18:383–416 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4 Chantratita, N, Wuthiekanun, V, Limmathurotsakul, D, Vesaratchavest, M, Thanwisai, A, Amornchai, P et al. Genetic diversity and microevolution of Burkholderia pseudomallei in the environment. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2008;2:e182 Google Scholar
5 Currie, BJ. Melioidosis: evolving concepts in epidemiology, pathogenesis, and treatment. Semin Respir Crit Care Med 2015;36:111–25Google ScholarPubMed
6 Currie, BJ, Fisher, DA, Howard, DM, Burrow, JN, Lo, D, Selva-Nayagam, S et al. Endemic melioidosis in tropical northern Australia: a 10-year prospective study and review of the literature. Clin Infect Dis 2000;31:981–6CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7 Currie, BJ, Ward, L, Cheng, AC. The epidemiology and clinical spectrum of melioidosis: 540 cases from the 20 year Darwin prospective study. PLoS Negl Trop Dis 2010;4:e900 Google Scholar
8 Currie, BJ, Fisher, DA, Anstey, NM, Jacups, SP. Melioidosis: acute and chronic disease, relapse and re-activation. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2000;94:301–4CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9 Sidjabat, HE, Cottrell, K, Cervin, A. Draft genome sequences of Burkholderia pseudomallei and Staphylococcus aureus, isolated from a patient with chronic rhinosinusitis. Genome Announc 2015;3:e01075–15 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10 Smith, MD, Wuthiekanun, V, Walsh, AL, White, NJ. Susceptibility of Pseudomonas pseudomallei to some newer beta-lactam antibiotics and antibiotic combinations using time-kill studies. J Antimicrob Chemother 1994;33:145–9CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11 Piliouras, P, Ulett, GC, Ashhurst-Smith, C, Hirst, RG, Norton, RE. A comparison of antibiotic susceptibility testing methods for cotrimoxazole with Burkholderia pseudomallei. Int J Antimicrob Agents 2002;19:427–9Google Scholar
12 Wong, PK, Ng, PH. Melioidosis presenting with orbital cellulitis. Singapore Med J 1996;37:220–1Google ScholarPubMed
13 Lim, RS, Flatman, S, Dahm, MC. Sinonasal melioidosis in a returned traveller presenting with nasal cellulitis and sinusitis. Case Rep Otolaryngol 2013;2013:920352 Google Scholar