Korean J Pediatr.  2006 Aug;49(8):882-888. 10.3345/kjp.2006.49.8.882.

Bacteremia in pediatric cancer patients: A single center study

• Park SM
• Choe BK
• Kim CS
• Kim JS
• Kim HS
• Ryoo NH

• KMID: 1607316
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3345/kjp.2006.49.8.882

Abstract

PURPOSE: Bacteremia is one of the major concerns in the treatment of pediatric cancer patients. This study was to determine the etiologic agents and the pattern of antibiotic susceptibilities in a single tertiary medical center.
METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of the cases of bacteremia in pediatric cancer patients from 1998 to 2005 in Keimyung University Dongsan Medical Center.
RESULTS
There were 62 cases of bacteremia from 44 patients. Gram-positive organisms(48.3%) were more common than gram-negative organisms(38.7%) or fungi(13%). Among gram-positive organisms, Staphylococcus epidermidis was the most common etiologic agent(63.3%), followed by Staphylococcus aureus(16.7%), alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus(16.7%), and Streptococcus mitis(3.3%). Among gram-negative organisms, Alcaligenes xylosoxidans was the most common agent(41.7%) and the other organisms were Klebsiella pneumoniae(20.8%), Stenotrophomonas maltophilia(12.5%), Acinetobacter baumanii(8.2%), etc. In febrile neutropenic patients, however, K. pneumoniae was the most common cause of gram-negative bacteremia. All of the isolated K. pneumoniae in our center produced extended-spectrum beta-lactamase and were related with high mortality. S. aureus, S. epidermidis, and Streptococcus species were all susceptible to vancomycin and teicoplanin. Most staphylococci were resistant to penicillin and oxacillin. Most of the gram-negative organisms were susceptible to imipenem.
CONCLUSION
Gram-positive organisms were more commonly isolated than gram-negative organisms in pediatric cancer patients like other studies. We could obtained valuable information on the choice of proper antibiotics in our institution. Further studies will be needed to explain the prevalence of A. xylosoxidans in our center.

Keyword

Bacteremia; Antibiotics; Susceptibility; Child; Cancer

MeSH Terms

Acinetobacter
Alcaligenes
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Bacteremia*
beta-Lactamases
Child
Humans
Imipenem
Klebsiella
Medical Records
Mortality
Oxacillin
Penicillins
Pneumonia
Prevalence
Retrospective Studies
Staphylococcus
Staphylococcus epidermidis
Stenotrophomonas
Streptococcus
Teicoplanin
Vancomycin
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Imipenem
Oxacillin
Penicillins
Teicoplanin
Vancomycin
beta-Lactamases