Patients at risk for inappropriate antibiotic treatment of bacteraemia.
In order to define patients at high risk for inappropriate antibiotic treatment of bacteraemia, we compared 682 bacteraemic patients, treated with an antibiotic drug to which the infecting micro-organism was susceptible, with 419 patients who were inappropriately treated. On a multivariate logistic regression analysis including only clinical variables, four factors were found to be both significantly and independently associated with inappropriate antibiotic treatment: hospital-acquired bacteraemia (odds-ratio (OR) of 1.9), antibiotic treatment in the month prior to the bacteraemia (OR 1.9), residence in a nursing home (OR 1.8), and the presence of a central line (OR 1.7). A second model, including bacteriological data, showed four micro-organisms to be independently associated with inappropriate antibiotic treatment: Candida sp. (OR 14.2), Acinetobacter sp. (OR 5.0), Enterococcus sp. (OR 3.6) and Pseudomonas sp. (OR 2.2). In this model, only two clinical features were included: hospital-acquired infection and previous antibiotic treatment. Special efforts should be made to improve empirical antibiotic treatment in the groups defined above, and to facilitate early laboratory diagnosis of the micro-organisms associated with inappropriate treatment.
Leibovici
L
L
Department of Internal Medicine, Beilinson Medical Center, Petah Tiqva, Israel.
Konisberger
H
H
Pitlik
S D
SD
Samra
Z
Z
Drucker
M
M
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002405:Catheterization, Central Venous; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D008875:Middle Aged; D009735:Nursing Homes; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents