Changes in Incidence and Etiology of Septicemia in an Infectious Unit

Abstract

In a retrospective study from a department of internal medicine and infectious diseases, 81 patients with septicemia were recorded in a 5-year-period (1963–1967). This constitutes 1.25 cases per 100 admissions. 64 (79%) of the patients had positive blood cultures. The isolated bacteria were: Staphylococcus aureus (23%), gram-negative bacilli except salmonella (24%), gram-positive cocci other than S. aureus (40%), and Neisseria meningitidis and salmonella species (13%). 77 (95%) of the patients were not in hospital when they fell ill. The overall mortality was 25%. The mortality was highest among those infected with gram-negative bacilli (40%). There was a significant increase in the annual number of septicemias, mainly due to an increase in the frequency of septicemias caused by S. aureus. No significant increase in the septicemias caused by gram-negative bacilli was found. The frequency of antibiotic-resistant strains was unchanged during the survey. All isolated gram-negative strains except salmonella species were partly resistant to ampicillin, 60% of them to polymyxin B and cephalosporin. All strains of S. aureus tested were sensitive to methicillin, cephalosporin and lincomycin, but 9 out of 16 strains were resistant to penicillin G.