Sphingomonas paucimobilis is an emerging opportunistic pathogen with increasing relevance in hospital-acquired infections, particularly among patients with significant comorbidities and those requiring invasive medical interventions. This study presents findings from a tertiary care hospital in Tamil Nadu, India, where an outbreak of S. paucimobilis bloodstream infections occurred over a two-month period. A prospective observational study was conducted in which blood samples from patients with suspected sepsis were cultured and analysed for identification and antibiotic susceptibility. Forty-three blood culture samples tested positive. The median patient age was 52 years, with common comorbidities including Diabetes Mellitus (34.9%), kidney diseases (32.6%), Systemic Hypertension (41.9%), and respiratory diseases (13.9%). About 39.5% of patients had Indwelling Medical Devices, including Central Venous Catheters (20.9%) and Urinary Catheters (18.6%). The majority of cases originated from General Medicine (41.86%), followed by ICU (20.93%) and Nephrology (20.93%). Antibiotic susceptibility results showed 100% sensitivity to meropenem and high susceptibility to Amikacin and Gentamicin (90.69%). In contrast, susceptibility to Levofloxacin (37.21%), Cotrimoxazole (32.56%), Minocycline (16.28%), and Chloramphenicol (11.63%) was much lower, with the highest resistance observed to Ciprofloxacin (95.35%), followed by Cotrimoxazole (55.81%) and Cefotaxime (9.30%). The findings underscore the importance of recognizing S. paucimobilis as a true pathogen rather than a mere laboratory contaminant. Its intrinsic ability to persist in low-nutrient environments, form biofilms, and colonize hospital water systems and medical devices poses substantial challenges to infection prevention efforts. Effective control requires timely microbiological diagnosis, evidence-based antimicrobial selection, and stringent adherence to infection control protocols.
