Bacteraemic pneumococcal disease in a teaching hospital in Finland

A total of 94 adult patients with bacteraemic pneumococcal disease were retrospectively analyzed for the factors associated with a fatal outcome. Included there were 61 males and 33 females with a mean age of 54.1 =/- 17.7 years. Of all patients, 28 (29.8%) were previously healthy, 66 (70.2%) had at least one chronic underlying disease and 29 (30.9%) were classified as alcohol abusers. The total case-fatality rate was 34%, which is higher than in the other recent Scandinavian studies. The disease was fulminant in 13 patients who died within 24 hours of admission. The mortality was significantly higher among those patients who had underlying diseases than among those who were previously healthy (p = 0.03). In addition, unfavourable prognosis was associated with septic shock on arrival (p = 0.03) respiratory insufficiency requiring mechanical ventilation (p < 0.05) and nosocomial infection (p = 0.03). The patients who succumbed were significantly older that those who survived (p < 0.01). Moreover, the absence of leucocytosis, thrombocytopenia and elevated serum creatinine levels predicted an unfavourable outcome. Contradictory to some previous reports, increased mortality was associated neither with the male sex, alcohol abuse nor the focus of infection. The continuously high mortality and rapid lethality of bacteraemic pneumococcal disease underscore the importance of following the present recommendations on the use of pneumococcal vaccine in high-risk patients.