PSEUDO-OUTBREAK OF PSEUDOMONAS-AERUGINOSA HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS UNDERGOING FIBEROPTIC BRONCHOSCOPY

Pseudomonas aeruginosa was isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from 8 consecutive patients undergoing bronchoscopy at an infectious d iseases unit. None of the patients developed signs of respiratory trac t infection that could be ascribed to the organism, The source of cont amination was the suction channels of 2 fiberoptic bronchoscopes which , due to a lapse in routine procedures, were not cleansed manually pri or to disinfection with glutaraldehyde. Although rarely of pathogeneti c importance, the possible presence of P. aeruginosa in lavage fluids should never be discounted, as it may indicate faulty disinfection of bronchoscopy equipment and thereby point to a risk of transmission of true respiratory pathogens such as mycobacteria.