Infectious Disease Consults of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Bloodstream Infection and Impact on Health Outcomes

Background. Infectious diseases (ID) consultation improves health outcomes for certain infections but has not been well described for Pseudomonas aeruginosa (PA) bloodstream infection (BSI). Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine ID consultation of inpatients with PA BSI and factors impacting outcomes. Methods. This was a retrospective cohort study from January 1, 2012, to December 31, 2018, of adult hospitalized veterans with PA BSI and antibiotic treatment 2 days before through 5 days after the culture date. Multidrug-resistant (MDR) cultures were defined as cultures with resistance to at least 1 agent in >= 3 antimicrobial categories tested. Multivariable logistic regression models were fit to assess the impact of ID consults and adequate treatment on mortality. Results. A total of 3256 patients had PA BSI, of whom 367 (11.3%) were multidrug resistant (MDR). Most were male (97.5%), over 65 years old (71.2%), and White (70.9%). Nearly one-fourth (n=784, 23.3%) died during hospitalization, and 870 (25.8%) died within 30 days of their culture. Adjusted models showed that ID consultation was associated with decreased in-hospital (odds ratio [OR], 0.47; 95% CI, 0.39-0.56) and 30-day mortality (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.42-0.62). Conclusions. Consultation with ID physicians improves clinical outcomes such as in-hospital and 30-day mortality for patients with PA BSI. ID consultation provides value and should be considered for patients with PA BSI.