Burkholderia cepacia —A rare but important cause of refractory peritonitis in patients with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis: A case report and literature review

Refractory peritonitis in patients undergoing continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) caused by Burkholderia cepacia is very rare. Herein, we describe a case of B. cepacia-related refractory peritonitis and present a literature review of similar cases. A 62-year-old male patient presented with diffuse abdominal pain, bloating, and turbid peritoneal effluent. Initial dialysis effluent culture was negative for any microorganism. The patient initially underwent treatment with piperacillin-sulbactam. The second dialysis effluent culture was positive for gram stain and later tested positive for B. cepacia. Peritoneal dialysis (PD) catheter removal was recommended, and the patient agreed to undergo regular hemodialysis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case of B. cepacia-related refractory peritonitis in a patient undergoing CAPD with no history of a recent hospitalization. B. cepacia infections can result in death in some areas. Therefore, timely catheter removal and switching treatment to hemodialysis is recommended for patients with B. cepacia-related refractory peritonitis.