[Cluster of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in a neurosurgical unit].

Hospital infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and particulary meningitis appear to be very common in neurosurgical wards and in patients with brain traumas. This study was carried out during the period between 25th October and the 11th December 2000 in a neurosurgical ward of the teaching hospital of the University "Federico II" of Naples. During this period, five patients contracted an infection caused by P. aeruginosa. The microorganisim was found to be responsible for three cases of meningitis and two cases of surgical site infections. The P. aeruginosa isolates responsible for the infections and the "environmental" isolates were subjected to genotypic typing through the analysis of macrorestriction patterns of genomic DNA after XbaI digestion of Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE). Four clinical isolates and an environmental isolate recovered from an hand washing basin located in the sub-intensive care area showed an identical PFGE pattern, as well as the some multiresistant antibiotype. The results of this study allows us to point out that the surveillance programs of infections in hospitals should include the molecular typing of micro-organisms singled out in clinical samples and, in case of outbreaks, also the typing of microorganisms originating from the environment and the hospital staff.