Bacteremia with Streptococcus pneumoniae: sepsis and other risk factors for 30-day mortality—a hospital-based cohort study

We conducted a hospital-based cohort study among adult patients with first-time Streptococcus pneumoniae bacteremia (SPB) from 2000 through 2008. Patients were identified in a population-based bacteremia database and followed up for mortality through the Danish Civil Registration System (CRS). The aim of the study was to determine the focal diagnosis of SPB, the severity of sepsis at presentation, demographics and comorbidity characteristics of the patients, and to determine the 30-day mortality rate and factors related to mortality. We identified 481 patients, of which 238 were males. The mean age of the patients was 65 years. The focal diagnosis of the SPB was pneumonia in 381 (79 %) patients, followed in frequency by meningitis in 33 (7 %) patients. Of the 481 patients, 390 (81 %) had community-acquired SPB. Of these, 23 (6 %) did not have sepsis, 132 (34 %) had sepsis, 224 (57 %) had severe sepsis, and 11 (3 %) were in septic shock. Overall, the 30-day mortality was 16 %. Mortality increased with the severity of sepsis. There was no association between the focal diagnosis of SPB or the number of diagnoses and mortality. Nosocomial infection, male sex, increasing age, and increasing comorbidity were all associated with an increased 30-day mortality rate.