Patients at risk of complications of Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infection.
Staphylococcus aureus is one of the most common causative pathogens of bloodstream infections (BSIs). In approximately one-half of patients with S. aureus BSI, no portal of entry can be documented. This group of patients has a high risk of developing septic metastases. Similarly, patient populations at high risk of S. aureus BSI and BSI-associated complications include patients receiving hemodialysis, injection drug users, patients with diabetes, and patients with preexisting cardiac conditions or other comorbidities. One of the most severe complications of S. aureus BSI is infective endocarditis, and S. aureus is now the most common cause of infective endocarditis in the developed world. Patients with methicillin-resistant S. aureus BSI or infective endocarditis have higher rates of mortality, compared with patients with methicillin-susceptible S. aureus infection. Nasal carriage is the most important source of S. aureus BSI. Better eradication and control strategies, including nasal decolonization and more-active antibiotics, are needed to combat S. aureus BSIs.
del Rio
Ana
A
Infectious Diseases Service, Hospital Clínic, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi-Sunyer, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
Cervera
Carlos
C
Moreno
Asunción
A
Moreillon
Phillipe
P
Miró
José M
JM
D016470:Bacteremia / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D002353:Carrier State; D004696:Endocarditis / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D055624:Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D009296:Nasal Cavity / Q000382:microbiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification