Acinetobacter vs. Acinobacter

Published

I hope this has not already been discussed ad nauseam, but my hospital recently had issues with acinetobacter that have been brought under some control through 1:1 ratios, and in the way in which our patients are transported through the hospital for testing and treatment.

I have seen and heard the terms "Acinetobacter" and "Acinobacter" used interchangeably in both shift report and on hospital documentation, including by docs on H&Ps. Is this the same bug? or am I missing something? I know that change in pronunciation and spelling is really minute, but it has been a cause of some confusion and discussion among the nurses in our department (ER). Does anyone have an answer? The CDC searches I have done only reveal mainly Acinetobacter, with only a couple of articles that mention Acinobacter that may just be in error. Please shed some light infectious control nurses.

Thanks,

Jeremy, RN

Specializes in Palliative Care, NICU/NNP.

I just did some web searching and the only thing I can conclude is that acinobacter is a lazy spelling for acintobacter! But, I wouldn't stake my life on it!

Specializes in NICU, Educ, IC, CM, EOC.

Could it be that acinobacter is the UK spelling and the US spelling is acinetobacter?

+ Join the Discussion