Which bug is associated with adult cystic fibrosis, ventilators, burns, neutropenia?

Which bug is associated with adult cystic fibrosis, ventilators, burns, neutropenia?

• A. Staphylococcus aureus
• B. Pseudomonas aeruginosa
• C. Streptococcus pyogenes
• D. Haemophilus influenzae

Answer: (B)

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a classic opportunistic pathogen that thrives in moist environments and in hosts with damaged or weakened defenses. In adults with cystic fibrosis, thick, mucus-filled airways provide a niche for Pseudomonas to colonize and form biofilms, leading to chronic lung infection and progressive decline. It is also a common cause of infection in people on ventilators (ventilator-associated pneumonia) and in burn wounds, where tissue damage and moisture promote its growth and invasion. Neutropenic patients are particularly susceptible because their impaired immune response allows this organism to proliferate more easily. While the other bacteria have their own associations—Staphylococcus aureus with skin and hospital infections, Streptococcus pyogenes with pharyngitis and soft-tissue infections, Haemophilus influenzae with certain respiratory infections—they don’t have as strong or distinctive a link to CF lungs, ventilator-associated infections, burn wounds, and neutropenia as Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a classic opportunistic pathogen that thrives in moist environments and in hosts with damaged or weakened defenses. In adults with cystic fibrosis, thick, mucus-filled airways provide a niche for Pseudomonas to colonize and form biofilms, leading to chronic lung infection and progressive decline. It is also a common cause of infection in people on ventilators (ventilator-associated pneumonia) and in burn wounds, where tissue damage and moisture promote its growth and invasion. Neutropenic patients are particularly susceptible because their impaired immune response allows this organism to proliferate more easily. While the other bacteria have their own associations—Staphylococcus aureus with skin and hospital infections, Streptococcus pyogenes with pharyngitis and soft-tissue infections, Haemophilus influenzae with certain respiratory infections—they don’t have as strong or distinctive a link to CF lungs, ventilator-associated infections, burn wounds, and neutropenia as Pseudomonas aeruginosa.