This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Mortality risk nearly doubles for patients with MDR P. aeruginosa
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
NEW ORLEANS — The mortality rate of patients with hospital-onset Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection was nearly twice as high among those with multidrug-resistant infections than non–multidrug-resistant infections, according to a recent analysis.
Study researcher Sanjay Merchant, PhD, executive director for the Center for Observational and Real-world Evidence (CORE) at Merck, told Infectious Disease News that the findings highlight the public health threat of multidrug-resistant (MDR) infections caused by P. aeruginosa (PsA) — a bacterium that WHO included on its list of “priority pathogens” in “critical” need of new therapies.
For the study, Merchant and colleagues used an electronic research dataset (Becton Dickinson & Company) containing laboratory results, pharmacy orders and financial data to assess the outcomes of patients with hospital-onset MDR-PsA.
“The objective of the study was to understand the clinical and economic burden associated with hospital-onset MDR-PsA so that appropriate treatment strategies can be employed to mitigate resistance,” Merchant said.
The analysis included PsA isolates collected from 78 hospitals in the U.S. from January 2013 to September 2015. The researchers identified 3,643 patients with non–MDR-PsA infections and 879 patients with MDR-PsA infections. They found that the mortality rate was 20.1% among patients with MDR infections vs. 11.5% among those without MDR infections. In addition, patients with MDR infections spent an additional 6 days in the hospital compared with those without MDR infections.
Merchant said the findings underscore the need for timely and effective therapy against MDR-PsA infections.
“Clinicians should consider risk factors for MDR-PsA infections when making treatment decisions to support antimicrobial stewardship efforts,” he said. “Additionally, hospitals should consider utilizing various infection management strategies, including hand hygiene, environment cleaning and increasing heterogeneity of antibiotic prescribing, to minimize the emergence and spread of MDR-PsA resistance in hospitals.” – by Stephanie Viguers
Reference:
Tabak YP, et al. Outcomes of Hospital-Onset Multidrug Resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MDR PSA) Infections. Presented at: ASM Microbe; June 1-5, 2017; New Orleans.
Disclosure: Merchant is an employee of Merck.