Sphingobacterium multivorum Meningitis in an Immunocompetent Patient with Pituitary Macroadenoma Apoplexy: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Abstract

Sphingobacterium multivorum is a Gram-negative bacterium previously classified as a Flavibacterium. It produces non lactose fermenting colonies and is capable of producing oxidase and catalase enzymes. It is found ubiquitously in the environment and has been isolated from food, plants, soil, and aquatic environments, including hospital water supplies. Only a few cases of clinical infections caused by Sphingobacterium multivorum have been reported. Most cases of infection have been demonstrated in immunosuppressed patients. This case report presents the case of a 23-year-old immunocompetent woman with pituitary macroadenoma haemorrhage who developed Sphingobacterium meningitis following neurosurgery and subsequently died from cardiac arrest.