Gardnerella vaginalis ventilatory acquired pneumonia among patients with trauma

Valentin de Villiers de La Noue (1) , Lucien Brasme (2) , Odile Bajolet (2) , Vincent Legros (1)

1 CHU Reims - Hôpital universitaire Robert Debré [Reims]
2 Laboratoire de Bactériologie-Virologie-Hygiène hospitalière [CHU Reims]

Gardnerella vaginalis (G. vaginalis) is a bacterium rarely responsible for systemic infections and is exceptionally isolated from bronchopulmonary samples. Here, we report here two patients with trauma who were diagnosed with a G. vaginalis ventilatory acquired pneumonia (VAP) via mini bronchoalveolar lavage (mini-BAL). According to our observations, G. vaginalis was the only microorganism with a significant threshold and the identification was obtained by a reliable mean. There is no recommendation for antibiotic treatment for invasive G. vaginalis infection. We treated these infections with Cefotaxim and Metronidazole which clinically improved the infection. To determine whether the two patients were infected by the same strain, we used a random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. The two G. vaginalis organisms had distinct RAPD profiles, suggesting the absence of cross-transmission. These two cases of trauma and G. vaginalis VAP suggest that this infection cannot be ruled out and should alert the clinician to treat it.

Mots clés: Gardnerella vaginalis; Intensive Care; Microbiology; Trauma; Ventilatory acquired pneumonia

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Valentin de Villiers de La Noue, Lucien Brasme, Odile Bajolet, Vincent Legros. Gardnerella vaginalis ventilatory acquired pneumonia among patients with trauma. Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease, 2024, 108 (4), pp.116202. ⟨10.1016/j.diagmicrobio.2024.116202⟩. ⟨hal-04456648⟩