Shigella septicemia: prevalence, presentation, risk factors, and outcome.
The prevalence, presentation, and outcome of bacteremia due to Shigella and other gram-negative bacteria were determined by review of records of 2,018 inpatients with shigellosis who had their blood cultured in a Bangladeshi hospital in 1976-1983. Shigella bacteremia occurred in 82 (4.1%) patients; other bacteremia occurred in 102 (5.1%) patients. Patients with shigella sepsis more frequently (P less than .02) manifested severe dehydration, abdominal tenderness or ileus, agitation or lethargy, and leukocytosis than did nonbacteremic controls; they developed more frequently (P less than .05) renal failure (26%), leukemoid reaction (22%), thrombocytopenia (20%), and hemolytic-uremic syndrome (6%). The prevalence of all bacteremia was highest in the first year of life. Protein-energy malnutrition was a strong risk factor for shigella sepsis (P less than .01). The fatality rate in shigella bacteremia (21%) was higher (P less than .005) than in nonbacteremic shigellosis (10%) but lower (P less than .001) than in other bacteremia (51%). At highest risk of death from shigella bacteremia (P less than .01) were patients less than one year old, non-breast-fed, malnourished, and afebrile.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004405:Dysentery, Bacillary / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D009748:Nutrition Disorders / Q000150:complications; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012306:Risk; D018805:Sepsis / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*