Table 1: Characteristics of patients according to empiric therapy: Patients who received Carbapenem (CRB) vs. patients treated with Non-CRB.
| Characteristic | CRBa N = 145 |
Non-CRBb N = 402 |
P value |
| Age | 80 (75-85) | 83 (76.2-87) | 0.006 |
| Male sex | 68 (46.9%) | 175 (43.5%) | 0.50 |
| ESBL-E colonization recognized at admission | 119 (82.1%) | 100 (24.9%) | < 0.001 |
| Charlson index score | 6 (5-7) | 6 (5-7) | 0.45 |
| Pitt severity score | 1 (0-2) | 1 (0-2) | 0.28 |
| Site of sepsis origin | < 0.001 | ||
| UTI | 82 (56.5%) | 113 (28.1%) | |
| RTI | 34 (23.4%) | 219 (54.5%) | |
| Other | 18 (12.4%) | 32 (8.0%) | |
| Unknown | 11 (7.6%) | 38 (9.4%) | |
| Aetiology of sepsis | < 0.001 | ||
| Identified, ESBL-E | 58 (40%)c | 97 (24.1%)c | |
| Escherichia coli | 42 | 67 | |
| Klebsiella pneumoniae | 16 | 29 | |
| Identified, not ESBL-E | 51 (35.2%) | 134 (33.3%) | |
| Escherichia coli | 23 | 41 | |
| Unidentified | 36 (24.8%) | 171 (42.5%) | |
| Healthcare-associated infection | 118 (81.4%) | 344 (85.6%) | 0.23 |
| ESBL-E bacteraemia | 6 (4.1%) | 18 (4.5%) | 1.00 |
Data are median (interquartile range), or number (%).
CRB: carbapenem; ESBL-E: extended-spectrum β-lactamase-producing Enterobacteriaceae; RTI: respiratory tract infection; UTI: urinary tract infection.
aErtapenem 130, imipenem 13, meropenem 2 patients; in addition to CRB 1 patient received azithromycin, 1 flucloxacillin, 1 vancomycin; bβ-lactam-β-lactamase inhibitor combinations (BLI) were prescribed empirically in 266 patients: amoxicillin-clavulanate in 198, piperacillin-tazobactam in 68. In addition to BLI, 5 patients received azithromycin, 2 vancomycin, 1, linezolid, 1 fluoroquinolone, 1 gentamicin. Other antibiotics with Gram-negative activity were prescribed empirically in 136 patients: fluoroquinolone alone in 84, fluoroquinolone in combination with other antibiotics in 26 (anti-Gram-positive in 20, metronidazole in 6), gentamicin in 11, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in 2, other antibiotic combinations in 13.
cOne patient had sepsis caused by both ESBL-E. coli and ESBL-K. pneumoniae.