Clinical features and outcomes of Staphylococcus aureus infections in non-neutropenic cancer patients

Goal of work This study was performed to evaluate the clinical features and outcomes of Staphylococcus aureus infection in non-neutropenic cancer patients. Materials and methods From the database of a surveillance study for S. aureus infections, the data regarding S. aureus infections in non-neutropenic cancer patients were analyzed. Main results Of 649 non-neutropenic cancer patients with S. aureus infections, 156 (24.0%) had a central venous catheter and 176 (27.1%) had an indwelling urinary catheter. The prevalence of methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) infections was 54.7% (355 out of 649). As for types of infection, skin and soft tissue infections were the most common (n=173, 26.7%), followed by pneumonia (n=165, 25.4%) and primary bacteremia (n=91; 14.0%). Overall, the 30-day mortality rate was 28.2% (124 out of 440), 34.1% (73 out of 214) in MRSA group, and 22.6% (51 out of 226) in methicillin-sensitive S. aureus group (P=0.007). When outcomes according to the types of infection were evaluated, the mortality rates were 49.5% (53 out of 107) for pneumonia and 41.2% (49 out of 119) for bacteremia. Multivariate analysis showed that pneumonia, concomitant bacteremia, comorbid liver disease, and intubated state with ICU care were independent risk factors associated with 30-day mortality. Conclusion Our study demonstrated that S. aureus infections in cancer patients are serious clinical conditions with high mortality rates, even in non-neutropenic patients.