Clinical Characteristics of Abdominal Infections Caused by Raoultella Spp.: A Retrospective Study

Background: In recent years, Raoultella spp. have attracted clinical attention as a new type of pathogen. The most common of human infection with Raoultella are bacteremia, urinary tract infections, abdominal infections, etc. Abdominal infection is a serious and complex infection problem. However, there have been no systematic reports of abdominal infections caused by Raoultella. The objective of this study was to explore the clinical characteristics of Raoultella abdominal infections and provide a reference for clinical practice. Methods: A review of publications on abdominal infections caused by the genus Raoultella between 2009 and 2024 is carried out. This review studied seven parameters: infection type, number of cases, gender, age, comorbidities, treatment, and outcome, and descriptive statistical methods were used to analyze the results. Results: A total of 40 cases (16 Raoultella ornithinolytica and 24 Raoultella planticola) were analyzed: 20 cases of biliary tract infection, 5 cases of liver infection, and 4 cases of peritonitis. Fever and abdominal pain were the main symptoms, and some patients present with multiple skin flushes, systemic erythema. Of the 40 cases, 92.5% of patients had underlying diseases. Among them, malignant disease, immunodeficiency, and invasive operations increase the risk of infection. On the basis of the drug susceptibility results, the preferred antibiotics are quinolone, third generations of cephalosporins, carbapenems, and aminoglycoside. Last, patients with abdominal infections caused by Raoultella spp. mostly have a good prognosis after early use of sensitive antibiotics. Conclusions: According to existing literature reports, the main type of abdominal infection caused by Raoultella is biliary tract infection, and most patients have other underlying diseases. Malignancy, immune deficiency, and invasive procedures are risk factors for bacterial infections. This review also emphasizes that Raoultella spp. is a rarely found opportunistic pathogen, which can cause a high incidence of healthcare-associated infections after invasive procedures.