[Two thousands seven hundred and thirty nine episodes of bacteremia in the county of Northern Jutland 1996-1998. Presentation of a regional clinical database].

A complete registration of bacteraemias has been undertaken in the County of Northern Jutland (population 493,000) since 1996, in the form of a bacteraemia register maintained by the Department of Clinical Microbiology, Aalborg Hospital, which serves the seven hospitals in the county. A follow-up is conducted on all patients with positive blood cultures. We registered 2,739 bacteraemias during 1996-1998. Eighty-nine percent of bacteraemias were monomicrobial and 11% polymicrobial. Among monomicrobial bacteraemias the predominant bacteria were Staphylococcus aureus (17%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (12%), Escherichia coli (31%), and other enterobacteria (14%). The source (focus) of infection was identified in 82% and the main foci were the urogenital tract (28%), the respiratory tract (14%), the digestive tract (13%), the hepato-biliary tract (8%), and intravascular devices (8%). The overall 30 day case fatality rate (CFR) was 21.5%. At first notification antibiotic therapy was appropriate in 54% of bacteraemias (CFR 14.8%), antibiotic therapy was inappropriate or missing in 38% (CFR 21.0%), active therapy had been withdrawn in 0.3%, in 5% the patient had died, and in 2% therapy had been completed or the patient had been discharged alive. The register has thus created a platform for research projects regarding risk factors, therapy and prognosis of bacteraemia.