title: Association between Staphylococcus aureus nasopharyngeal colonization and septicemia in patients infected with the human immunodeficiency virus.
abstract: In an attempt to identify risk factors for Staphylococcus aureus septicemia, 136 consecutive HIV-infected patients were investigated for the presence of nasopharyngeal colonization with Staphylococcus aureus and subsequent Staphylococcus aureus infection. Sixty of 136 (44.1%) HIV-infected patients had staphylococci which were detected in the nasopharynx on initial culture compared to 12 of 39 (30.8%) patients with chronic diseases and 11 of 47 (23.4%) healthy hospital staff. Another 12 HIV-infected subjects proved to be Staphylococcus aureus carriers on follow-up cultures. Patients with full-blown AIDS had a higher carriage rate compared to subjects who were only HIV-positive (p < 0.05), indicating that Staphylococcus aureus colonized patients were more severely ill. Eight patients with Staphylococcus aureus septicemia were observed, all of whom were carriers; no septicemia occurred in the non-colonized patients (p < 0.01). Colonized patients with neutropenia (< 1000/microliters) were significantly more likely to develop septicemia (p < 0.01). Nasopharyngeal colonization with Staphylococcus aureus and the presence of an indwelling catheter were established to be factors that help identify patients at risk of acquiring subsequent Staphylococcus aureus infection.
authors.affiliation: II. Medizinische Klinik, Universitätsklinikum Rudolf Virchow/Wedding, Freie Universität, Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Weinke
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schiller
authors.forename: F J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Fehrenbach
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Pohle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000150:complications*; D002353:Carrier State; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009305:Nasopharynx / Q000382:microbiology*; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000150:complications*; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*