title: The increasing importance of polymicrobial bacteremia.
abstract: Polymicrobial bacteremia increased from 6% in 1970 to 13% in 1975 in patients with bloodstream infections. This type of serious infection most commonly complicated genitourinary (27%) and gastrointestinal (26%) conditions, frequently followed invasive procedures (68%), was more common in hospitalized patients (73%), and was often associated with malignancies (25%) or immunosuppressive or cancer chemotherapy (34%). Although polymicrobial endocarditis was more commonly encountered in recent years, this infection accounted for only 4.5% of patients with multiple organism bacteremias. Gram-negative aerobic bacteria were isolated from 62% and anaerobic bacteria in 39% of patients with polymicrobial bacteremia compared with 37% and 14%, respectively, in patients with monomicrobial bacteremia. In the 88 patients with polymicrobial bacteremia, the mortality was 44.5%, compared with 18.0% in patients with monomicrobial bacteremia.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001419:Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000150:complications; D005831:Genital Diseases, Female / Q000150:complications; D005832:Genital Diseases, Male / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D018805:Sepsis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology*; D014570:Urologic Diseases / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents