Investigation on outcomes and bacterial distributions of liver cirrhosis patients with gram-negative bacterial bloodstream infection

Objective The study aimed at analyzing the epidemiology and outcomes of liver cirrhosis patients undergoing gram-negative bacterial bloodstream infection. Results Totally 508 eligible patients were collected, with 25.79% 30-day mortality, and 58.86% patients were confirmed as nosocomial infection. The most common isolates were Escherichia coli (48.29%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (19.29%), and multidrug-resistant isolates accounted for 36.61%. The bacterial distributions were similar between survivors and non-survivors (P>0.05), but showed close association with acquisition sites of infection (P<0.05). Nosocomial infection (HR=1.589, 95% CI=1.004-2.517), Child-Pugh grade (HR=2.471, 95% CI=1.279-4.772), septic shock (HR=1.966, 95% CI=1.228-3.146), complications (HR=3.529, 95% CI=2.140-5.818), and WBC (HR=1.065, 95% CI=1.018-1.114) were independent indicators for 30-day mortality. β-lactamase inhibitor antibiotics exerted a high antibacterial activity. Methods The inpatients with liver cirrhosis developed gram-negative bacterial bloodstream infection were collected. The clinical characteristics, bacterial distribution and drug sensitivity results of patients were compared according to their 30-day survival status and acquisition sites of infections. Cox regression model was applied to evaluate the risk factors for 30-day mortality. Conclusion Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae are frequently isolated from gram-negative bacterial bloodstream infection episodes in cirrhosis patients. Acquisition site of infection can influence clinical characteristics and etiological distribution. β-lactamase inhibitor antibiotics may be the first choice for empirical treatments.