Acinetobacter baumannii is increasingly recognized as an important cause of nosocomial infection, especially in neonatal intensive care units. But little is known about the clinical significance and hospital epidemiology of Acinetobacter species other than A. baumannii . The objective of this study is to describe the clinical characteristics and epidemiology of septicemia due to Acinetobacter species other than A. baumannii .

We retrospectively reviewed 11 cases of blood culture proven nosocomial infection which occured in our neonatal intensive care unit from 4^th to 24^th, February, 2004. To establish epidemiological analysis, we performed environmental cultures and an antibiogram was obtained from susceptability tests of isolated Acinetobacter species.

Clinical manifestations including fever, poor feeding, abdominal distension, diarrhea, bloody stool passage, vomiting, tachypnea and apnea were similar to other infectious diseases. Benign clinical courses were compared with poor prognose, including a high mortality rate in septicemia due to A. baumannii . The major predisposing factor among our patients was the presence of a peripheral intravascular catheter. Antibiogram was similar, but surveillance cultures of environmental specimens failed to identify the source of infection.

Acinetobacter species other than A. baumannii were often considered relatively avirulent bacteria, but could be pathologic organisms if cultured in patients with clinical symptoms.