Clinical characteristics and antimicrobial susceptibilities of viridans streptococcal bacteremia during febrile neutropenia in patients with hematologic malignancies: a comparison between adults and children

BACKGROUND: This study was performed to compare the clinical characteristics and antibiotic susceptibilities of viridans streptococcal bacteremia (VSB) between febrile neutropenic adults and children with hematologic malignancies. METHODS: The consecutive medical records of neutropenic patients with hematologic malignancies who were admitted to the Catholic Blood and Marrow Transplantation Center between April 2009 and July 2012, and who were subsequently diagnosed with VSB were reviewed retrospectively. A comparison was made between the clinical and laboratory characteristics of adults and pediatric patients and also between patients with cefepime susceptible or not susceptible VSB. RESULTS: A total of 202 episodes (141 in adults, 61 in children) of VSB were identified. Among them, 26 (12.9%) cases had severe complications including four (2.0%) cases of death attributable to VSB. For antibacterial prophylaxis, most adults received ciprofloxacin (97.1%), but children more frequently received trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (86.9%). Oral mucositis (p = 0.005) and abdominal pain (p = 0.001) were found more frequently in adults, and cough was found more frequently in children (p = 0.004). The occurrence rates of severe complications and death attributable to VSB were not significantly different between adults and children. Susceptibility rate to cefepime was significantly higher in adults than children (85.7% vs. 66.1%, p = 0.002). However, in multivariate analysis, cefepime susceptibility had no impact on clinical outcome. CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference in clinical outcome between adults and children with VSB despite a difference in cefepime susceptibility. Hence, different antibiotic treatment strategies may not be necessary.