News: No link between polymicrobial infections and worse ICU outcomes, study shows

Patients with polymicrobial bloodstream infections and patients with monomicrobial bloodstream infections had comparable 90-day all-cause mortality, according to a recent study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.

Austrian researchers analyzing the medical records data of 3,197 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) for at least three days with at least one positive blood culture. They evaluated the impact of polymicrobial bloodstream infections on 90-day all-cause mortality as the primary outcome, as well as 30-day all-cause mortality, microbiological failure, the onset of fever, the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome, and the length of ICU and hospital stay as secondary outcomes.

According to their results, the risk for 90-day all-cause mortality did not differ significantly between polymicrobial and monomicrobial groups. They did not find any significant difference between the groups for the listed secondary outcomes either, Medscape Medical News reported.

“Our findings add to the growing body of evidence suggesting that the presence of multiple bloodstream pathogens is not an independent driver of mortality in the ICU,” authors of the study reported. “Consequently, in contemporary ICU settings with established treatment protocols and timely empiric broad-spectrum therapy, clinicians should not automatically anticipate poorer outcomes solely based on the detection of multiple pathogens.”

Editor’s note: To read Medscape Medical News’ coverage of this story, click here. To access the study, click here.