Survival following Burkholderia cepacia sepsis in a patient with cystic fibrosis treated with corticosteroids.

We describe an 11-year-old girl with cystic fibrosis (CF) who presented with respiratory failure and Burkholderia cepacia bacteremia (cepacia syndrome). She survived her illness after aggressive treatment with parenteral antibiotics and corticosteroids. We speculate that treatment with corticosteroids may decrease the influx of proinflammatory cytokines and neutrophil-induced inflammation, with resulting improvement in the outcome of cepacia syndrome in CF patients. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.