Gram-negative bacilli bacteremia: a 7 year retrospective study in a referral Brazilian tertiary-care teaching hospital

Introduction. Bloodstream infection is one of the most frequent and challenging hospitalacquired infections and it is associated with high morbidity, mortality and additional use of healthcare resources. Hypothesis/Gap Statement: Bloodstream infections have consequences for the patient, such as the evolution to mortality and inappropriate empirical antibiotic prescription, especially when caused by multidrugresistant Gramnegative bacilli. Objective. To assess the impact of bloodstream infection and the status of multidrug resistance (MDR) in the evolution of patients who received inappropriate initial antibiotic therapy. Methods. A retrospective surveillance was conducted on nosocomial bloodstream infections caused by Gramnegative bacilli (GNB) from January 2012 to December 2018 in an adult intensive care unit of a Brazilian tertiary teaching hospital. Results. We identified 270 patients with GNB nosocomial bacteremia. Nonsurvivors were older (with an average age of 58.8 years vs 46.9 years, P=<0.0001), presented more severe illnesses, were immunosuppressed (73.7 vs 37.6%, P=<0.0001), were more likely to have septic shock (55.8 vs 22.4%, P=<0.0001) and had an increased usage of mechanical ventilators (98.6 vs 89.6%, P=0.0013) than survivors. In a logistic regression model, inappropriate empirical antibiotic therapy was not an independent predictor of mortality, different from mechanical ventilator (P=<0.0001; OR=28.0; 95% CI=6.3-123.6), septic shock (P=0.0051; OR=2.5; 95% CI=1.3-4.9) and immunosuppression (P=0.0066; OR=2.6; 95% CI=1.3-5.2). In contrast, in a separate model, MDR was strongly associated with the prescription of inappropriate initial antibiotic therapy (P=0.0030; OR=5.3; 95% CI=1.7-16.1). The main isolated pathogens were Acinetobacter baumannii (23.6 %) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (18.7 %). The frequency of MDR organisms was high (63.7 %), especially among nonfermenting bacilli (60.9 %), highlighting A. baumannii (81.6 %) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (41.8 %). Conclusion. Illness severity (septic shock and immunosuppression) and mechanical ventilation were identified as predictors of mortality. Additionally, MDR was a major determinant of inappropriate antibiotic empirical therapy, but not associated with mortality, and both characteristics were not statistically associated with death.

Automated summary

Bloodstream infections, particularly caused by multidrug-resistant Gramnegative bacilli, have serious consequences for patients, but inappropriate initial antibiotic therapy is not an independent predictor of mortality. Severity of illness (septic shock and immunosuppression) and mechanical ventilation are identified as predictors of mortality. Multidrug resistance is strongly associated with the prescription of inappropriate initial antibiotic therapy, but not with mortality.