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. 2019 Jan 23;14(1):e0210991.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210991. eCollection 2019.

Colonization with multidrug resistant organisms determines the clinical course of patients with acute myeloid leukemia undergoing intensive induction chemotherapy

Olivier Ballo  1   2 , Ikram Tarazzit  1 , Jan Stratmann  1 , Claudia Reinheimer  3   4 , Michael Hogardt  3   4 , Thomas A Wichelhaus  3   4 , Volkhard Kempf  3   4 , Hubert Serve  1   2   4 , Fabian Finkelmeier  2   5 , Christian Brandts  1   2
Affiliations

Colonization with multidrug resistant organisms determines the clinical course of patients with acute myeloid leukemia undergoing intensive induction chemotherapy

Olivier Ballo et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Introduction: The global spread of multidrug-resistant organisms (MDRO) complicates treatment and isolation measures in hospitals and has shown to increase mortality. Patients with disease- or therapy-related immunodeficiency are especially at risk for fatal infections caused by MDRO. The impact of MDRO colonization on the clinical course of AML patients undergoing intensive induction chemotherapy-a potentially curative but highly toxic treatment option-has not been systematically studied.

Materials & methods: 312 AML patients undergoing intensive induction chemotherapy between 2007 and 2015 were examined for MDRO colonization. Patients with evidence for MDRO before or during the hospital stay of induction chemotherapy were defined as colonized, patients who never had a positive swab for MDRO were defined as noncolonized.

Results: Of 312 AML patients 90 were colonized and 130 were noncolonized. Colonized patients suffered from significantly more days with fever, spent more days on the intensive care unit and had a higher median C-reactive protein value during the hospital stay. These findings did not result in a prolonged length of hospital stay or an increased mortality rate for colonized patients. However, in a subgroup analysis, patients colonized with carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE) had a significantly reduced 60- and 90-day, as well as 1- and 2-year survival rates when compared to noncolonized patients.

Conclusion: Our analysis highlights the importance of intensive MDRO screening especially in patients with febrile neutropenia since persisting fever can be a sign of MDRO-colonization. CRE-colonized patients require special surveillance, since they seem to be at risk for death.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Flow sheet for screening, enrollment and allocation.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Kaplan-Meier curves for overall survival (OS).
A. OS of colonized (dotted line) and noncolonized (solid line) patients. B. OS of CRE-colonized (dotted line) and noncolonized (solid line) patients.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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