Excess mortality due to pandrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii infections in hospitalized patients

Background

Pandrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (PDRAB) is increasingly being reported as a nosocomial pathogen worldwide, but determining its clinical impact is challenging.

Aim

To assess the spectrum of excess mortality attributable to PDRAB infection in acute care settings.

Methods

This four-year cohort study was conducted in a tertiary-care referral hospital in Greece to estimate excess in-hospital mortality due to PDRAB infection by comparing patients infected to those colonized with PDRAB by means of competing risks survival analysis.

Findings

The study cohort comprised 91 patients (median age: 67 years; 77% men). For most patients, PDRAB was first isolated in the intensive care unit (ICU) (N = 51; 57%) or following ICU discharge (N = 26; 29%). Overall in-hospital mortality was 68% (95% confidence interval (CI): 57.5–77.5%). PDRAB-infected patients (N = 62; 68%) and PDRAB-colonized patients (N = 29; 32%) had similar baseline characteristics, but the absolute excess risk of 30-day mortality in infected patients compared to colonized patients was 34% (95% CI: 14–54%). Multivariable competing risks regression showed that PDRAB infection significantly increased the daily hazard of 30-day in-hospital death (cause-specific hazard ratio (csHR): 3.10; 95% CI: 1.33–7.21) while simultaneously decreasing the daily rate of discharge (csHR: 0.24; 95% CI: 0.08–0.74), thereby leading to longer hospitalization. Stronger effects were observed for bloodstream infections.

Conclusion

New effective antimicrobials would be expected to prevent mortality in one of every three patients treated for PDRAB infection and reduce their length of hospitalization. However, available therapeutic options remain extremely limited and emphasis on preventing healthcare-associated transmission of PDRAB is ever more important.