title: A prospective study of infections in lung cancer patients admitted to the hospital.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the type of infections occurring in hospitalized patients with lung cancer.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Department of internal medicine in a cancer hospital.
  
  
  METHODS
  All patients with lung cancer who were hospitalized for any cause and who acquired infections at the time of admission or during the hospital stay between January 1997 and February 2001.
  
  
  METHODS
  None.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two hundred seventy-five patients with lung cancer had 435 episodes of fever and/or microbiologically or otherwise documented infection. Two hundred eighteen patients (79.3%) presented with non-small cell lung carcinoma, while 49 patients (17.8%) had small cell lung cancer. The majority of the infections occurred in the tracheobronchial tree (56%). There were 38 episodes of bacteremia or fungemia, and the primary site of infection was identified in 18 cases (47%). Microbiologically documented infections accounted for 61% of the infectious episodes, and included a total of 312 microorganisms. The most frequent pathogens were Gram-negative bacteria (64%), followed by Gram-positive bacteria (25%) and fungi (8%). The predominant Gram-negative bacteria were Haemophilus influenzae and Moraxella catarrhalis. Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, coagulase-negative staphylococci, and Enterococcus faecalis essentially represented the Gram-positive bacteria. No multiresistant bacteria were observed. Bacteria were susceptible to most of the antibiotics classically administered for their treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The predominant site of infection in patients with lung cancer is the tracheobronchial tree, with S pneumoniae, S aureus, H influenzae, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and M catarrhalis as the principal pathogens.
authors.affiliation: Service de Médecine et Laboratoire d'Investigation Clinique H.J. Tagnon, Institut Jules Bordet, Centre des Tumeurs de l'Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium. thierry.berghmans@bordet.be
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Berghmans
authors.forename: Jean-Paul
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Sculier
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Klastersky
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000453:epidemiology; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology*; D001982:Bronchial Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D002289:Carcinoma, Non-Small-Cell Lung / Q000150:complications*; D018288:Carcinoma, Small Cell / Q000150:complications*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008175:Lung Neoplasms / Q000150:complications*; D009181:Mycoses / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014133:Tracheal Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents