Bacteremia with P-fimbriated Escherichia coli in diabetic patients: correlation between proteinuria and non-P-fimbriated strains.
In a consecutive material of 652 E. coli bacteremia 70 episodes (11%) were found in 64 patients with diabetes mellitus. 10 patients had insulin-dependent and 54 had non-insulin-dependent diabetes. The E. coli strains were tested for adhesive properties as mediated by P-fimbriae, a virulence factor in human urinary tract infections. Half of the strains were P-fimbriated with a higher occurrence in women (26/42, 62%) than in men (9/27, 33%). Diabetic patients with a positive urine culture had a higher incidence of P-fimbriated E. coli strains (27/37, 73%) in blood culture than patients with negative or no urine culture taken (8/32, 25%). Furthermore, patients without compromising factors, regardless of their diabetes mellitus, had a higher incidence of P-fimbriated E. coli strains (19/29, 66%) than those with malignancies and other debilitating diseases (6/22, 27%). The high incidence of P-fimbriated E. coli strains in the non-compromised patients may depend on the ability of such bacteria to invade the urinary tract and cause acute pyelonephritis, which often precedes E. coli bacteremia. A lower incidence of P-fimbriated E. coli strains was found in patients with proteinuria prior to the bacteremic episode (10/31, 32%), compared to those without proteinuria (25/35, 71%). No correlation was noted between P-fimbriation and duration of diabetes or serum creatinine. The low incidence of P-fimbriated E. coli strains in patients with proteinuria indicates that nephropathy, or some concurrent complication, predisposes the diabetic patient to bacteremia with low virulent, non-P-fimbriated E. coli.
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D048909:Diabetes Complications; D004927:Escherichia coli Infections / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D010861:Fimbriae, Bacterial; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010127:P Blood-Group System; D011507:Proteinuria / Q000209:etiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018805:Sepsis / Q000209:etiology*
D010127:P Blood-Group System