Article
1 January 1989

Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcal Bacteremia: Mortality and Hospital Stay

Publication: Annals of Internal Medicine
Volume 110, Number 1

Abstract

Objective: To determine the attributable mortality and the excess length of hospital stay resulting from coagulase-negative staphylococcal bacteremia.
Design: Matched historical cohort study.
Setting: Large university-based tertiary care center.
Patients: Of 171 patients with hospital-acquired coagulase-negative staphylococcal bacteremia identified by prospective surveillance of nosocomial infections from 1 July 1984 to 30 June 1987, 118 met criteria for the study and were matched to a control patient by age, sex, primary diagnose, operative procedures, and date of admission.
Measurements and Results: Success was achieved in 621 of 650 (96%) variables used for matching. Staphylococcus epidermidis accounted for 92% of the bacteremias. Twenty cases (17%) had evidence of septic shock, and 10 had disseminated intravascular coagulation. The mortality rate in cases was 36 of 118 (30.5%) compared with 20 of 118 (16.9%) in controls. The attributable mortality was 13.6% (95% CI, 4.2 to 22.9) and the risk ratio for dying was 1.8 (95% CI, 1.2 to 2.7; P = 0.006). The median length of stay was 46 days for cases and 37.5 for controls (P = 0.0002).
Conclusions: Coagulase-negative staphylococci, the leading organisms causing hospital-acquired bacteremias, are associated with mortality in excess of that due to the underlying diseases alone. Moreover, they significantly prolong the length of hospital stay. These findings show the importance of coagulase-negative staphylococcal bacteremia in hospitalized patients.

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Information & Authors

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Published In

cover image Annals of Internal Medicine
Annals of Internal Medicine
Volume 110Number 11 January 1989
Pages: 9 - 16

History

Published in issue: 1 January 1989
Published online: 1 December 2008

Keywords

Authors

Affiliations

Michael A. Martin, MD
Michael A. Pfaller, MD
Richard P. Wenzel, MD, MSc
From University of Iowa College of Medicine, Iowa City, Iowa. For current author addresses, see end of text.

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Michael A. Martin, Michael A. Pfaller, Richard P. Wenzel. Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcal Bacteremia: Mortality and Hospital Stay. Ann Intern Med.1989;110:9-16. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-110-1-9

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