Open AccessDetecting risk and predicting patient mortality in patients with extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae bloodstream infections
Author(s) -
Enrico Maria Trecarichi,
Roberto Cauda,
Mario Tumbarello
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
future microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.797
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1746-0921
pISSN - 1746-0913
DOI - 10.2217/fmb.12.100
Subject(s) - enterobacteriaceae , epidemiology , medicine , intensive care medicine , antibiotic resistance , antibiotics , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , escherichia coli , biochemistry , gene
Extended-spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) have been increasingly described worldwide, especially among Enterobacteriaceae isolates, and recently not only in the nosocomial, but also in the community setting. Bloodstream infections (BSIs) caused by ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae have been associated with increased rates of treatment failure, mortality and hospital costs. Any delay in the initiation of adequate antibiotic therapy is potentially lethal for patients with BSIs caused by ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae. The awareness of changes in bacterial resistance patterns, the careful knowledge of risk factors for ESBL infection and of factors facilitating adverse outcome, giving attention to local epidemiology, can improve the efficacy of empirical treatment protocols. The aim of this review is to focus on the main characteristics of BSIs caused by ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae, with particular emphasis on risk factors for these infections and factors related to mortality.