Women more likely to die within 30-days from bacterial blood infection

Emobileclinic  Researchers’ Corner

 

 

Women more likely to die within 30-days from bacterial blood infection Researchers from Denmark and Spain in their recent study published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection Journal have given credence to the fact that staphylococcus aureus records significant casualty in women than men.

The reasons for the increasing mortality rate of staphylococcus aureus blood infection which is 30% more fatal in women than men remain unknown. Clinicians around the world have long suspected that bacteraemia due to Staphylococcus aureus has a worse outcome in women compared to men, but direct evidence has been elusive. This blood infection leads to death within 30 days in an infected person.

The Researchers analysed data on 2,638 patients from population-based medical registers in Denmark from 2000 and 2011 diagnosed with bacteraemia caused by Staphylococcus aureus. The assessed deaths within the first 30 days showed that 29% of the women died compared to 22% of the men. Women therefore are 1.3 times more likely to die within a month of developing Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia.

Dr Jesper Smit remarked that it is worth noting that the link between gender and fatality was seen across all age groups and the greatest risk of death appeared to be in women who were diabetic or who had a diagnosis of chronic pulmonary disease or cancer. The researchers found no link between gender and two common complications of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia: infective endocarditis and osteomyelitis.

Smit further said that, though women in this situation are at a higher risk of death compared to men, they do not yet understand why. The researcher said further studies will be needed to uncover the cellular and molecular mechanisms but the information generated should aid clinical decision making by helping to define which patients are most vulnerable.

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The authors recommend that gender should be considered in the triage and risk stratification of patients with community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia.

 

 

Source

Gender differences in the outcome of community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia: a historical population-based cohort study, J . Smit, L.E. López-Cortés, A.J . Kaasch, M. Søgaard, R.W. Thomsen, H.C. Schønheyder, J . Rodríguez-Baño, H. Nielsen, Clinical Microbiology and Infection, doi: 10.1016/j.cmi.2016.06.002, published online 22 June 2016.



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