Treatment, clinical outcomes, and predictors of mortality among a national cohort of hospitalized patients with Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infection

To analyze treatment, clinical outcomes, and predictors of inpatient mortality in hospitalized patients with Stenotrophomonas maltophilia infection. Retrospective cohort study. We included patients admitted to Veterans Affairs hospitals nationally with S. maltophilia cultures and treatment from 2010 to 2019. We described patient and clinical characteristics, antibiotic treatment, and clinical outcomes. Univariate and multivariable logistic regression were used to evaluate predictors of inpatient mortality. We identified 3891 hospitalized patients treated for an S. maltophilia infection, of which 13.7% died during admission. The most common antibiotic agents were piperacillin/tazobactam (39.7%), sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (23.3%), and levofloxacin (23.2%). Combination therapy was used in 16.6% of patients. Independent predictors of inpatient mortality identified in multivariable analysis included the following: presence of current acute respiratory failure (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 4.74, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.63–6.19), shock (aOR 3.00, 95% CI 2.31–3.90), acute renal failure (aOR 2.06, 95% CI 1.64–2.60), and septicemia (aOR 1.90, 95% CI 1.49–2.42), age 65 years and older (aOR 2.05, 95% CI 1.07–3.94, reference age 18–49 years), hospital-acquired infection (aOR 1.87, 95% CI 1.48–2.37), Black (aOR 1.58, 95% CI 1.21–2.06) and other races (aOR 1.65, 95% CI 1.41–2.41, reference White), liver disease (aOR 1.51, 95% CI 1.02–2.22), and median Charlson comorbidity score or higher (aOR 1.36, 95% CI 1.08–1.71, reference less than median). Clinical outcomes were similar between patients infected with sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim-resistant, levofloxacin-resistant, and multidrug-resistant S. maltophilia strains compared to non-resistant strains. In our national cohort of hospitalized patients with S. maltophilia infection, 13.7% of patients died during admission and several predictors of inpatient mortality were identified. Predictors related to the severity of infection were among the strongest identified. It is important that in severely ill patients presenting to the hospital, S. maltophilia be considered as a cause.