Risk Factors for Mortality in Patients with Stenotrophomonas maltophilia Bloodstream Infections in Immunocompetent...

This study aimed to evaluate bloodstream infections caused by Stenotrophomonas maltophilia in immunocompetent patients with respect to clinical features and risk factors for mortality.

We reviewed bloodstream infections detected between January 1, 2012, and July 1, 2021, to identify nosocomial S. maltophilia bacteremia in Koşuyolu Research and Training Hospital.

We identified a total of 97 patients with S. maltophilia bloodstream infections. Of these, 17 patients were excluded because of community-acquired infections (n=9), contamination with S. maltophilia (n=3), and insufficient data (n=5), with 80 (57.5% males) patients remaining for analysis. The source of infection was the respiratory tract in 28 (35%) patients. A central venous catheter was used in 60 (75%) patients, which required replacement in 23 patients within five days after detecting S. maltophilia bacteremia. On antimicrobial susceptibility testing, 71 strains were found to be susceptible and 9 (11.3%) resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Thirty-day mortality was 33.8%. Non-survivors differed significantly from survivors with respect to higher rates of central venous catheters ( p=0.020), mechanical ventilation (p=0.006), urinary catheters (p=0.021), septic shock (p=0.001), hypoalbuminemia (p=0.026) and thrombocytopenia (p =0.039). S. maltophilia bacteremia was independently associated with mortality in patients with hypoalbuminemia, and replacement of central venous catheters had a protective role in reducing mortality.

As with other bacterial infections, S. maltophilia bacteremia is associated with a considerably high mortality rate in patients with cardiac conditions. The replacement of the catheter seems to play a beneficial role in 30-day survival.