title: Immune dysfunction prior to Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia is a determinant of long-term mortality.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The clinical implications for patients who survive serious infections are not well understood. It has been hypothesized that the excess mortality for survivors of sepsis observed in epidemiological studies is due to increased vulnerability to subsequent infections. We undertook this study to identify characteristics of patients who are at high risk for death after surviving a common type of blood-stream infection.
  
  
  METHODS
  At a single academic medical center, 237 patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia admitted during a three-year period were retrospectively identified. The primary outcomes were 30-day and 31 to 90-day mortality after the first positive blood culture. The primary predictor variable of interest was clinical immune dysfunction prior to bacteremia.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The 30-day mortality was not significantly different for patients with and without prior immune dysfunction. However, during days 31 to 90, 11 patients (20%) with prior immune dysfunction compared to 10 patients (8.6%) without prior immune dysfunction died (OR 2.59, 95% CI 1.03-6.53, p = 0.04). In a Cox-proportional hazard model controlling for age, there was a significant association between prior immune dysfunction and greater 31 to 90 day mortality (HR 2.44, 95% CI 1.01-5.90, p = 0.05) and a non-significant trend towards occurrence of subsequent infections and greater 31 to 90 day mortality (HR 2.12, 95% CI 0.89-5.07, p = 0.09).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with prior immune dysfunction are at high risk for death 31 to 90 days, but not <30 days, after S. aureus bacteremia. Further investigation is needed to determine if this finding is due to poor prognosis of chronic disease or increased vulnerability to subsequent infections.
authors: Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
authors: Jared A
authors: JA
authors: Greenberg
authors: Section of Infectious Disease and Global Health, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
authors: Michael Z
authors: MZ
authors: David
authors: Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
authors: Jesse B
authors: JB
authors: Hall
authors: Section of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America.
authors: John P
authors: JP
authors: Kress
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016470:Bacteremia / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007154:Immune System Diseases / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D013203:Staphylococcal Infections / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications* / Q000401:mortality; D013211:Staphylococcus aureus / Q000302:isolation & purification*