Bloodstream infections caused by multi-drug resistant proteus mirabilis: Epidemiology, risk factors and impact of multi-drug resistance

Background The prevalence of antimicrobial co-resistance among ESBL-producing Enterobactereaceae is extremely high in Israel. Multidrug-resistant Proteus mirabilis strains (MDR- PM), resistant to almost all antibiotic classes have been described. The aim was to determine the risk factors for bloodstream infections caused by MDR-PM and clinical outcomes. Methods A retrospective case-control study. Adult patients with PM bacteremia during 7 years were identified retrospectively and their files reviewed for demographics, underlying diseases, Charlson Comorbidity Index, treatment and outcome. Results One hundred and eighty patients with PM- bloodstream infection (BSI) were included; 90 cases with MDR-PM and 90 controls with sensitive PM (S-PM). Compared to controls, cases more frequently were from nursing homes, had recurrent hospital admissions in the past year and received antibiotic therapy in the previous 3 months, were bedridden and suffered from peripheral vascular disease and peptic ulcer disease (p<0.001). Two- thirds of the MDR-PM isolates were ESBL-producers vs 4.4% of S-PM isolates (p<0.001, OR = 47.6, 95% CI = 15.9-142.6). In-hospital crude mortality rate of patients with MDR-PM BSI was 37.7% vs 23.3% in those with S-PM BSI (p = 0.0359, OR = 2, 95% CI = 1.4-3.81). Conclusions PM bacteremia in elderly and functionally-dependent patients is likely to be caused by nearly pan-resistant PM strains in the institution; 51.8% of the patients received inappropriate empiric antibiotic treatment. The crude mortality rate of patients with MDR-PM BSI was significantly higher than that of patients with S-PM BSI.