Outcome of Listeria monocytogenes infection in compromised and non-compromised adults; a comparative study of seventy-two cases.

The mortality in listeric meningitis and septicaemia, the two main clinical manifestations of the infection, is generally considered to be high. However, co-existing disorders rather than the listeric infection itself seem to determine the outcome. In the present study of 72 listeric infections among non-pregnant adults, 28 patients without co-existing disease had a fatality rate of 10.7% as compared to 57.9% among 19 immunocompromised individuals. Finally, in a third group of listeric patients, including alcoholics and people with heart disease or diabetes mellitus, the fatality rate was 24.0%.