title: Polymicrobial bacteremia in critically ill patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To characterize the epidemiology of polymicrobial bacteremia (PMB) among critically ill patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective clinical study.
  
  
  METHODS
  University medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients with positive blood cultures in a medical-surgical ICU.
  
  
  METHODS
  PMB represents 8.4% of all true bacteremia in our ICU. Most of these patients were postoperative but none had malignancies or significant immunodepression. Over three-quarters of the episodes were nosocomial. No significant differences in factors associated with PMB were found when they were compared with a cohort of 154 monomicrobial episodes. Enterobacteriaceae were the most common organisms. Intravascular devices (42.8%) were the most common source of PMB, followed by intra-abdominal origin (21.4%). The overall mortality was 7.1%, a lower rate than has previously been described.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We suggest catheter replacement in patients who develop PMB and improving techniques of catheter maintenance in order to reduce its incidence.
authors.affiliation: Department of Intensive Care, Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rello
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Quintana
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mirelis
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gurguí
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Net
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Prats
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000382:microbiology*; D001419:Bacteria / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002406:Catheterization, Peripheral / Q000009:adverse effects; D002408:Catheters, Indwelling / Q000009:adverse effects; D016638:Critical Illness; D003428:Cross Infection / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies