Bacteraemia--a New York perception

Positive blood cultures (in total 7541) obtained from patients of varied social background in a New York medical centre between 1984 and 1989 are reviewed. Streptococcus pneumoniae predominated in community-acquired infections, and coagulase-negative staphylococci and Staphylococcus aureus in nosocomial infections, the latter often arising from intravenous lines. The reported trend towards Gram-positive isolates is confirmed in this series.