Vancomycin-resistant enterococci colonization does not increase mortality in end-stage kidney failure: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND

Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) colonization is a frequent occurrence in patients with renal failure. Understanding the impact of VRE colonization on this group of patients has considerable clinical applicability.

AIM

To understand whether VRE colonization in renal patients has an impact on number of admissions to hospital, length of stay, and mortality.

METHODS

A retrospective case-control study of renal dialysis patients was performed between 2000 and 2010. Cases were 134 VRE-colonized patients requiring renal replacement therapy and matched controls were 137 non-colonized patients with the same baseline characteristics. Matched cases and controls were analysed for differences in number of admissions, length of stay, and mortality.

FINDINGS

There was no difference in mortality between colonized and non-colonized patients (hazard ratio: 1.14; 95% confidence interval: 0.78-1.69; P = 0.49). Length of stay for colonized patients was 7.29 days compared with 4.14 days (P < 0.001). The number of admissions for VRE-colonized patients was not significantly different compared with controls (9.34 vs 8.33, P = 0.78).

CONCLUSION

VRE colonization did not increase mortality in renal patients but did contribute to increased length of stay.