Bacillus sphaericus bacteraemia in children with cancer: case reports and literature review

In the period 1989-1999, Bacillus sphaericus was demonstrated to cause 12 o ut of 469 (2%) episodes of bacteraemia in children with cancer or receiving bone marrow transplant at G. Gaslini Children's Hospital, Genoa, Italy. Ne utropenia was present in five episodes, six episodes, (all without neutrope nia) were related to the presence of a central venous catheter, and one epi sode occurred in a patient with intestinal graft vs. host disease and gut c olonization. All patients survived. Ciprofloxacin was the only drug active against all the isolated strains. Bacillus sphaericus represents a new cause of infection in the immunocompro mised host, with low aggressiveness, but a peculiar pattern of antibiotic s usceptibility. (C) 2001 The Hospital Infection Society.