Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia at a tertiary care center: a cohort study.

BACKGROUND Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia (PAB) is associated with high mortality and morbidity rates, but the outcome for patients with PAB has not been recently well evaluated. METHODS Between 1997 and 1999, all episodes of PAB at the Hôtel-Dieu de France University Hospital, Lebanon, were analyzed to evaluate the outcome for patients with PAB. RESULTS Fifty-five episodes of PAB in 53 patients (26 episodes in men and 29 in women) were analyzed. The mean age of the patients in the cohort was 60.7 years (range: 18-89 years). The mean time between the onset of hospitalization and the first episode of PAB was 21 days (range: 0-77 days). Most of the tested isolates showed favorable in vitro susceptibility to ceftazidime (85%), amikacin (77%) and imipenem (67%). The overall in-hospital cumulative survival was 89% at one week and 49% at 2 months. Among the variables analyzed, four were statistically associated with a higher mortality rate: prior use of antimicrobials (85% vs 54%), use of systemic steroids (49% vs 36%), intubation (67% vs 32%), and admission to the intensive care unit (74% vs 39%) (P < .05). CONCLUSION Hospitalized patients with PAB have low survival rates. Newer strategies for prevention and treatment are crucial.