Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia: an analysis of 123 episodes, with particular emphasis on the effect of antibiotic therapy.

OBJECTIVES

To review current experience with Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteremia and compare outcome of patients treated with single-drug, versus combination therapy.

METHODS

The charts of all patients with P. aeruginosa bacteremia between 1990 and 1992 were reviewed, and pertinent demographic, clinical, and bacteriologic data were retrieved. In addition, similar data were collected from a series of patients with P. aeruginosa bacteremia from the literature of the past 20 years.

RESULTS

One hundred and twenty-three episodes of P. aeruginosa bacteremia in 121 patients were identified. Most patients were older than 70 years, had at least one underlying condition, and had acquired the infection in the hospital. Attributable mortality was 34%. After exclusion for early mortality and inappropriate therapy, 57 patients remained eligible for comparison of outcome according to therapy protocol. Mortality from infection was equal between the group of 42 patients who received monotherapy and the 15 patients who received combination therapy (14% and 13%, respectively). The literature review revealed eight articles describing 21 to 410 episodes of Pseudomonas bacteremia. The clinical characteristics of these series did not differ significantly from those of the present series.

CONCLUSIONS

Incidence, epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and outcome of pseudomonas sepsis did not change significantly over the past 2 decades. Appropriate monotherapy was as effective as combination drug therapy for individuals with pseudomonas bacteremia surviving the first 2 days of infection.