Venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in severe community-acquired Acinetobacter baumannii pneumonia

INTRODUCTION: Globally, Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumannii) is a significant nosocomial pathogen. Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) caused by A. baumannii is rare, but often associated with severe outcomes. CASE PRESENTATION: A 48-year-old man was admitted to a local hospital, presenting a 14-hour history of acute fever, cough, expectoration, chest pain, and dyspnea. Owing to the development of severe acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and septic shock, the patient was promptly transferred to our institution for veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO) following intubation and mechanical ventilation. Sputum culture, digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) assay of blood, and metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) assay of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) all indicated A. baumannii. The patient responded favorably to treatment with meropenem and tigecycline. The amelioration of his respiratory function allowed for the cessation of ECMO after 7 days; and subsequently, the patient was successfully weaned from ventilatory support. CONCLUSIONS: A. baumannii should be considered as a possible causative organism of CAP based on presentation in the tropical or subtropical wet season, a very aggressive clinical course, typical chest imaging features, and the presence of A. baumannii in sputum. ECMO represents an efficacious treatment alternative for severe ARDS and septic shock complications associated with A. baumannii when conventional mechanical ventilation proves inadequate, particularly when initiated early in the clinical course.