Occurrence of Serious Bacterial Infections Since Introduction of Antibacterial Agents

Studies on the Epidemiology of Escherichia coli Infections. IV. Evidence for a Nosocomial Flora*

“…Nowhere is this more true than in infections caused by E. coli. In view of the increasing importance of these organisms in causing infections, particularly in elderly debilitated patients confined to the hospital (26,27), further studies to clarify the conditions that facilitate the carrier state of E. coli in man and determine whether infection will take place are clearly indicated. A point of departure for these studies would be to study these relationships in a bacteriologically clean environment in which each variable could be assessed separately.…”

Endotoxin Tolerance. Ii. Its Occurrence in Patients With Pyelonephritis*

“…McDonald, Solomon, and Shock also have demonstrated significantly greater decreases in renal vascular resistance in older patients after pyrogen challenge than in younger controls (25). These investigators postulated greater vascular reactivity to endotoxin in the elderly, and this increased susceptibility of older patients to endotoxin may partially explain the increased lethality of gram-negative bacteremia in the elderly (26).…”

Etiology of Bacteremia in a Referral Hospital in Saudi Arabia

“…4,16 Gram-negative bacteria are known to be responsible for the majority of cases of bacteremia, ranging from 50 to 63% of microbial isolations from blood. [4][5][6]8,9,[14][15][16][17][18][19] This trend was also evident at KFSH, OMH and VAMC in 1985. E. coli was most frequently isolated at all three institutions.…”

“…[2][3][4] The increased incidence is not limited to the usual etiological pattern of usual Gram-positive bacteria but has changed to reflect an increase in the infections caused by Gramnegative microorganisms. [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11] This led Dalton and Alison 12 and Sonnenwirth 8 to emphasize the significance of gathering and disseminating information concerning the epidemiology and etiology of bacteremic infections. Only by such surveillance could changing patterns in etiology be documented and the problems of bacteremia fully explored.…”