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A total of 262 bacteremic episodes were observed in cancer patients in a single cancer institution during the last 7 years, and the recorded outcome was death in 65. The 65 patients who died (24.8% overall mortality) were divided retrospectively into two subgroups: (a) those who died of underlying disease with bacteremia (45 cases, 16.9% crude mortality) and (b) those who died of bacteremia (20 patients, 7.7% attributable mortality). Comparison of several risk factors in subgroups of patients who achieved a cure (197 cases) and of those who died and whose deaths were attributable (20 cases) revealed six risk factors that were associated with attributable mortality: (1) chemotherapy-induced neutropenia (P < 0.03), (2) Acinetobacter/Stenotrophomonas spp. bacteremias (P < 0.001), (3) liver failure (P < 0.001), (4) inappropriate therapy (P < 0.0001), (5) organ complications (P < 0.003) and (6) multiresistant organisms (P < 0.001). Enterococci and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, surprisingly, were found more frequently in those who died of an underlying disease with bacteremia than among patients who were cured (17.6% vs 7.6%, P < 0.05 and 29.1% vs 13.8%, P < 0.02). Those who died of infection had higher numbers of positive blood cultures, with 2.05 per episode, than did those who died of underlying disease with bacteremia (1.82) or those who were cured (1.51). Other risk factors, such as underlying disease, type of chemotherapy, origin of bacteremia, age, and catheters did not predict either overall or attributable mortality within the study group.

Relationships between aetiology, various risk factors (such as neutropenia, catheter insertion, endoscopy, therapy with corticosteroids, therapeutic use of antimicrobials, antibiotic prophylaxis, source of infection), symptomatology and outcome were studied in 553 monomicrobial bacteraemic episodes in cancer patients observed within 7 years at the National Cancer Institute of the Slovak Republic. The ratio of gram-positive to gram-negative bacteraemia was 1:1 (43.5% vs 43.8%), and yeasts caused 7.2% of monomicrobial episodes. The highest mortality was associated with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19.2%), non-albicans Candida yeasts (25%) and Bacteroides fragilis (22.6%). Independent risk factors for particular pathogens were investigated by a computerized logistic regression model. The only independent risk factor for staphylococcal and enterococcal bacteraemia was vascular catheter insertion (OR = 1.95 and 2.05, CI = 95%, P = 0.035 and 0.044, respectively). However, there were no independent specific risk significant factors for viridans streptococcal bacteraemia and bacteraemia due to Enterobacteriaceae or Ps. aeruginosa. Neutropenia was found to be an independent predictor for development of Acinetobacter spp. bacteraemia (OR = 3.84, CI = 95%, P = 0.044). Prior therapy with third-generation cephalosporines was a predictive, independent risk factor for the development of fungaemia (OR = 1.99, CI = 95%, P = 0.028) but not of enterococcal bacteraemia. We also did not observe any association between prior therapy with imipenem and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia bacteraemias. Multivariate analysis confirmed that fungaemia may be independently associated with higher mortality than bacteraemia caused by Enterobacteriaceae and staphylococci. However, the mortality of fungaemia was statistically no different from that of Ps. aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas spp. and viridans streptococci bacteraemias.

A total of 134 episodes of staphylococcal bacteremia (SBE) appearing among 9987 admissions, and 979 episodes of bacteremia in cancer patients within 5 years, were analyzed for risk factors, clinical course and outcome; 64 were monomicrobial and 70 polymicrobial. The most frequent risk factors were acute leukemia, catheter insertion, long-lasting neutropenia, and prior prophylaxis with quinolones. There was no significant difference between polymicrobial and monomicrobial SBE in risk factors. The two groups differed only in the source of bacteremia (gastrointestinal and respiratory-tract infections were more common in monomicrobial SBE) and etiology-Staphylococcus aureus appeared more frequently in monomicrobial than in polymicrobial bacteremia (20.3% compared to 4.3%, P < 0.05). More complications (14.3%) such as abscesses, endocarditis, etc. appeared in the group of polymicrobial SBE (P < 0.05). No difference was observed in clinical course and outcome between monomicrobial and polymicrobial SBE. The incidence of SBE has increased since 1991, when quinolones were first used in prophylaxis in afebrile neutropenia at our center; however, the infection-associated mortality in monomicrobial SBE was low (4.3%).