Microbiological Profile of Bacterial Infections in Patients With Cirrhosis Over Time: A 20-year Territory-wide Study

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) complicates the management of bacterial infections in cirrhosis, whereas detailed microbiology data remain scarce. This study aimed to characterize the bacteriological landscape in patients with cirrhosis and assess their impact on mortality.

All admissions of adult patients with cirrhosis between 2001 and 2021 were identified using a territory-wide database in Hong Kong. Temporal trends in bacteriology and AMR patterns were assessed using joinpoint regressions. Survival status at the last admission was assessed, and patient-level multivariable logistic regression was performed.

A total of 173,725 admissions from 17,685 patients were included, among which 18,513 admissions from 7638 patients had positive cultures. Gram-negative bacteria predominated (69.3%), but their proportion decreased from 2010 to 2021 (annual percent change, -0.6%; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.8 to -0.1). Multidrug-resistant organisms were isolated in 34.1% of episodes and increased during 2001 to 2006 (annual percent change, 6.8%; 95% CI, 3.0-17.7). A heterogeneous increase in resistance was observed across organisms. The total number (and prevalence of resistance among the same organism) of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, third-generation cephalosporin-resistant Enterobacterales, carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter episodes was 1484 (60.4%), 3122 (28.7%), 135 (1.4%), 119 (6.2%), and 254 (40.5%), respectively. Multidrug-resistant infections during admissions (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 1.56; 95% CI, 1.26-1.93; P < .001) and a history of 2 (aOR, 1.64; 95% CI, 1.36-1.98; P < .001) or more (aOR, 2.74; 95% CI, 2.27-3.30; P < .001) infection episodes per year were independently associated with increased in-hospital mortality.

AMR is rising in patients with cirrhosis. Multidisciplinary effort is crucial to combat AMR and manage bacterial infections in cirrhosis.