Clinical and laboratory characteristics of patients infected with Shewanella species at a tertiary hospital in Hefei City, China: a retrospective analysis

TL;DR

This study analyzes clinical and lab features of rare Shewanella infections in 36 patients at a Chinese hospital, highlighting symptoms and treatment outcomes.

Contribution

Provides a detailed retrospective analysis of Shewanella spp. infections in a tertiary hospital setting, focusing on clinical and laboratory characteristics.

Findings

77.8% of Shewanella isolates were Shewanella algae, with abdominal pain as the most common symptom.

Patients with hepatobiliary disease showed common lab features like anemia and neutrophilia.

Shewanella spp. showed susceptibility to aminoglycoside, quinolone, and other antibiotics, with effective treatment outcomes.

Abstract

Shewanella species (Shewanella spp.) were emerging and rare pathogens. Very few studies had focused on Shewanella spp. infection due to its low incidence. A retrospective analysis summarizing clinical and laboratory characteristics of Shewanella spp. infection at a tertiary hospital in Hefei City was conducted to learn more about the rare bacterium.

A total of 36 patients with Shewanella spp. infection from October 2019 to February 2025 were included. The data of all patients were collected by reviewing electronic records.

Among 36 isolated strains, 77.8% were Shewanella algae and 22.2% were Shewanella putrefaciens. Abdominal pain was the most common clinical symptom. Intrahepatic stone and cholangitis was the main diagnosed disease. According to the type of main diagnosed disease, they were divided into two groups: hepatobiliary disease group and non-hepatobiliary disease group. The laboratory results were analyzed, and it was revealed that the laboratory characteristics of anemia, neutrophilia, leukocytosis, and so on were common. Serum coagulation tests results showed that it was significantly higher than the normal value, and all other serum biochemical and coagulation tests results were mostly normal. For microorganism culture, co-infection microorganisms were obtained. Shewanella spp. were usually susceptible to aminoglycoside, quinolone, cephalosporin, carbapenems, and compound antibiotics. All patients were treated with antibiotics, and there were one or more types of antibiotics to use, all of whom had effective treatment outcomes.

Shewanella spp. infections were very limited. The study might improve the attention and awareness of the rare bacterial infection.

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