Acinetobacter sp. infections are most characteristically associated with which setting or condition?

• A. Commonly susceptible to most antimicrobials
• B. Generally gram-negative cocci morphology
• C. Oxidase positive
• D. Infections associated with use of medical devices

Answer: (D)

Acinetobacter infections are a classic hospital-associated problem, arising especially in patients with invasive medical devices. These organisms are non-fermenting, Gram-negative coccobacilli that survive well in the hospital environment and readily form biofilms on devices like catheters, endotracheal tubes, and implanted lines. This propensity to colonize and persist on medical devices makes device-associated infections a defining feature of Acinetobacter in clinical settings.

In addition, they are not typically susceptible to most antimicrobials due to multidrug resistance, and they are not oxidase positive (they are oxidase-negative) and not described as gram-negative cocci.