Characteristics of Enterococcus species bloodstream infections among adults with and without onco-hematological malignancies: Experiences from the national center of Hungary

TL;DR

This study examines bloodstream infections caused by Enterococcus species in adults with and without onco-hematological malignancies at a Hungarian hospital.

Contribution

The study provides insights into the clinical and microbiological characteristics of Enterococcus bloodstream infections in patients with and without onco-hematological malignancies.

Findings

No significant difference in 30-day mortality between patients with and without malignancies.

Similar 1-year mortality rates observed in both patient groups.

E. faecalis and E. faecium were the most common species causing infections.

Abstract

Over the past decade, enterococcal bloodstream infection (BSI) shows increasing incidence globally among the elderly and in patients with comorbidities. In this study, we aimed to assess microbiological and clinical characteristics and long-term outcomes of BSIs caused by Enterococcus spp. in adult patients with and without active onco-hematological malignancies hospitalized at a national referral institute.

A prospective analysis of consecutive enterococcal BSI cases was conducted in the National Institute of Hematology and Infectious Diseases (Budapest, Hungary) between December 2019 and April 2022. We compared characteristics and outcomes at 30-days and 1 year after diagnosis among patients with and without onco-hematological malignancies.

In total, 141 patients were included (median age 68 ± 21 years, female sex 36.9%), 37% (52/141) had active onco-hematological malignancies. The distribution of species was as follows: 50.4% Enterococcus faecalis, 46.1% Enterococcus faecium, 1.4% Enterococcus avium and Enterococcus gallinarum, and 0.7% Enterococcus raffinosus. No statistically significant differences in all-cause mortality rates were observed between patient subgroups at 30 days (32.7 vs. 28.1%; P = 0.57) and 1 year (75.0 vs. 60.7%; P = 0.09).

Enterococcal bloodstream infections yielded a relevant burden of morbidity, but with no statistical difference in long-term outcomes of adult patients with and without active onco-hematological malignancies.

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