%0 Journal Article
%T Healthcare-associated blood stream infections in hematological patients in Finland during the years 2006-2016.
%A Åttman E
%A Syrjänen J
%A Lyytikäinen O
%A Ollgren J
%A Sinisalo M
%A Vuento R
%A Mattila E
%A Huttunen R
%J Eur J Haematol
%V 107
%N 3
%D Sep 2021
%M 33987847
%F 3.674
%R 10.1111/ejh.13663
%X <B>OBJECTIVE: </B>The aim was to identify the clinical characteristics, outcome, and antimicrobial susceptibility of healthcare-associated bloodstream infections (BSIs) in hematological patients.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>This retrospectively collected laboratory-based surveillance data include 3404 healthcare-associated BSIs in 2296 patients with a hematological malignancy in hospitals participating in the Finnish Hospital Infection Program from January 1, 2006, to December 31, 2016.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>The most common underlying diseases were acute myelogenous leukemia (35%) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (22%). Gram-positive organisms accounted for 60%-46% and gram-negative organisms for 24%-36% of BSIs in 2006-2016. The most common causative organism was coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) (n = 731). The 7- and 28-day case fatality rates were 5.2% and 11.4%, respectively, and was highest in BSIs caused by Candida species (10.8% and 30.8%). The median age of patients increased from 59 years in 2006-2008 to 62 years in 2015-2016 (P < .01). Five percent of S aureus isolates were resistant to methicillin and five percent of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates were multidrug-resistant. Four percent of Klebsiella and seven percent of E coli isolates were resistant to ceftazidime.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>The proportion of gram-positive bacteria decreased and gram-negative bacteria increased over time. The case fatality rate was low and the median age of patients increased during the study.