Prospective Evaluation of Infection Episodes in Cancer Patients in a Tertiary Care Academic Center: Microbiological Features and Risk Factors for Mortality
Journal Title: Turkish Journal of Hematology - Year 2016, Vol 33, Issue 4
Abstract
Objective: We aimed to determine the frequency, type, and etiology of infections and the risk factors for infections and mortality in hospitalized cancer patients. Materials and Methods: We prospectively enrolled adult cancer patients hospitalized in the internal medicine wards of a tertiary care academic center between January and August 2004. Patients were followed during their hospitalization periods for neutropenia, infections, culture results, and mortality. Results: We followed 473 cancer patients with 818 hospitalization episodes and 384 infection episodes in total. Seventy-nine percent of the infections were nosocomial, and febrile neutropenia (FN) was observed in 196 (51%) of the infection episodes. Bacteremia was found in 29% of FN episodes and in 8% of nonneutropenic patients. Gram-positive bacteria were the leading cause of bacteremia in both neutropenic and nonneutropenic cases (70% and 58%, respectively). Presence of an indwelling central catheter increased bacteremia risk by 3-fold. The overall mortality rate was 17%, whereas 34% of the patients with bloodstream infections died. Presence of bacteremia and advanced disease stage increased overall mortality by 6.1-fold and 3.7-fold, respectively. Conclusion: Nearly half of the cancer patients developed an infection during their hospital stays, with gram-positive bacteria being the predominant etiologic microorganisms. This demonstrates the changing trends in infections considering that, until 2004, gram-negative bacteria were the most predominant microorganisms among cancer patients in our institute.
Authors and Affiliations
Nursel Çalık Başaran, Ergun Karaağaoğlu, Gülşen Hasçelik, Mine Durusu Tanrıöver, Murat Akova
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP228553
- DOI 10.4274/tjh.2015.0216
- Views 70
- Downloads 0
Extended Half-Life Coagulation Factors: A New Era in the Management of Hemophilia Patients
Despite effective factor replacement and various treatment schedules, there remain several challenges and unmet needs in the prophylactic treatment of hemophilia limiting its adoption and thereby posing an increased risk...
About Methemoglobinemia
The Role of Radiotherapy Among the Therapeutic Options for Castleman’s Disease
Rituximab-Related Reversible Hepatocellular Damage
To the Editor, Since its approval in 1997 by the US Food and Drug Administration, use of rituximab (MabThera®, Roche,Switzerland) has become widespread, especially for the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and chr...
Peripheral Neuropathy in Sézary Syndrome: Coincidence or a Part of the Syndrome?