Outcomes of Aeromonas bacteremia in patients with different types of underlying disease

Over a 6-year period, 42 patients with different underlying diseases developed Aeromonas bacteremia in our hospital. The male to female ratio was 2:1. The vast majority of these patients had underlying diseases, including various types of neoplasm (n = 14), liver cirrhosis (n = 11), biliary tract disorder (n = 10) and other illnesses (n = 7). Community-acquired bacteremia was predominant (33 cases, 79%). Aeromonas hydrophila was the most common species isolated (88%). Monomicrobial bacteremia was more common than polymicrobial bacteremia (64% vs 36%). Monomicrobial bacteremia was associated with neoplasm or liver cirrhosis in 80% of patients. Polymicrobial bacteremia was more common in patients with biliary tract disorder than in patients from other groups (60% vs 40%). Escherichia coli (60%) was the predominant concomitant organism isolated. The major clinical manifestations were fever (74%), jaundice (57%), and abdominal pain (45%). Recognized infection sites included biliary tract, soft tissue involvement, peritoneal involvement, while 50% of patients had no recognized infection site. Eight patients (80%) received cholecystectomy due to gall stone with acute cholecystitis. However, none of the cirrhotic patients with necrotizing fasciitis received surgical treatment. The mortality attributed to Aeromonas bacteremia was 70%. Patients with liver cirrhosis or malignancy had a higher acute mortality (death within 7 days after admission) than the other patients (89% vs 11%). We conclude that Aeromonas bacteremia can cause a rapidly fatal outcome and should be considered an important pathogen for septicemia in patients with liver cirrhosis or neoplasm.