Pseudomonas is a gram-negative rod that belongs to the family Pseudomonadaceae. More than half of all clinical isolates produce the blue-green pigment pyocyanin. Pseudomonas often has a characteristic sweet odor.
These pathogens are widespread in nature, inhabiting soil, water, plants, and animals (including humans). Pseudomonas aeruginosa has become an important cause of infection, especially in patients with compromised host defense mechanisms. It is the most common pathogen isolated from patients who have been hospitalized longer than 1 week. It is a frequent cause of nosocomial infections such as pneumonia, urinary tract infections (UTIs), and bacteremia. Pseudomonal infections are complicated and can be life threatening.
Author: Samer Qarah, MD, Pulmonary Critical Care Consultant, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, The Brooklyn Hospital Center and Cornell University
Coauthor(s): Burke A Cunha, MD, Professor of Medicine, State University of New York School of Medicine at Stony Brook; Chief, Infectious Disease Division, Winthrop-University Hospital; Pratibha Dua, MD, MBBS, Staff Physician, Department of Internal Medicine, The Brooklyn Hospital Center; Klaus-Dieter Lessnau, MD, FCCP, Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine, New York University School of Medicine; Medical Director, Pulmonary Physiology Laboratory; Director of Research in Pulmonary Medicine, Department of Medicine, Section of Pulmonary Medicine, Lenox Hill Hospital
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