Clinical implications of stenotrophomonas maltophilia resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole: a study of 69 patients at 2 university hospitals.
Tsiodras S, Pittet D, Carmeli Y, Eliopoulos G, Boucher H, Harbarth S.
Division of Infectious Diseases, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA.
We conducted a retrospective case study at 2 tertiary care centers to determine the clinical implications of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole resistant Stenotrophomonas maltophilia (TSRSM). Of 69 reviewed cases (mean age, 57 y; male gender, 70%), 40 (58%) were classified as infections associated with TSRSM (respiratory tract, 14; soft tissue, 11; bloodstream, 8; other sites, 7). Severe underlying comorbidities (86%) and previous antibiotic exposure (99%) were common. Cefotetan (susceptibility, 55%), chloramphenicol (49%) and ticarcillin-clavulanate (45%) showed the highest in vitro activity against TSRSM, but were seldom used for therapy (7%). Among the 40 infected cases, 8 developed sepsis disorders and 8 died. Only 1 death could be directly attributed to autopsy-proven TSRSM infection (pneumonia). McCabe score (p = 0.03) and organ dysfunction (p = 0.006) were associated with an increased risk of death in infected patients; exposure to appropriate therapy tended to be protective against death (p = 0.08). 22 infected patients were treated medically; an additional procedure was necessary to clear the infection in 18 cases (surgery, 13; catheter removal, 5). Isolation precautions were rarely exercised, even in the presence of panresistant isolates. In summary, TSRSM-related infections occurred in severely ill patients with extensive exposure to the health-care system, and often required invasive procedures for cure. Infections were directly associated with severe morbidity, and tended to have an indirect rather than a direct impact on mortality.
Publication Types:
PMID: 11200376 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]