Septicaemia in the elderly

Abstract

Summary A retrospective study was made of 44 elderly patients with bacteraemia treated in the period 1974-1980. Positive blood cultures in 5 cases were considered clinically insignificant. Twenty-six of the remaining 39 patients were found to have a Gram-negative bacteraemia, mainly associated with urinary tract infection. Abnormalities of liver function were common but 5 jaundiced patients with Gram-negative infection were shown to have stones in the common bile duct. The value of blood cultures as a diagnostic aid in the non-specifically ill elderly patient is emphasized.

Community‐Acquired Bacteremia in the Elderly: A Prospective Study of 121 Cases

“…Previous reports have noted a high overall mortality rate for community‐acquired bacteremia 10,12,13 . The mortality of 38% in the present series compares with that of other series 10,12,13 and with 27% in patients under the age of 65 reported by us previously 4 . The trend in high mortality associated with Klebsiella sp.…”

“…The spectrum of organisms did not differ from other reports on community‐acquired bacteremia, with E. coli the most common pathogen and the urinary tract the most common portal of entry 6,10,11,13 . Reports of the high incidence of bacteremia caused by Klebsiella sp and Gram‐negative organisms other than E. coli all refer to nosocomial infections and serve to emphasize the difference between the two types of bacteremias 14,15…”

“…Although there have been a number of studies of bacteremia in the elderly, 6–13 these reports have either been retrospective or have dealt with both hospital‐ and community‐acquired infection. In this prospective survey we have confined our description to community‐acquired bacteremia and attempted to correlate clinical and laboratory findings with outcome.…”

Bacteraemia in the elderly: predictors of outcome in an urban teaching hospital

“…[33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46] Fever occurs less often while alterations in mental status are more frequent. 6,33 There is no set of signs or symptoms that predict bacteraemia in the elderly.…”

“…Nevertheless, the increased risk of mortality associated with bacteraemia in patients with renal disease has been observed in other studies. 2,[8][9][10]13,15,25,26,40,41,45 Shmuely et al examined 2722 consecutive patients with bacteraemia or fungemia and subdivided them into groups based on creatinine levels. Patients with severe renal disease (defined as a creatinine level O3.0 mg/dL) had a significantly higher mortality rate when compared to patients with moderate or mild renal insufficiency.…”