227. Prevalence, Comorbidities and Expenditures of S. aureus Bacteremia in Liver Transplant Recipients: A 2012–2016 Nationwide Analysis

BACKGROUND: Bacteremia due to Staphylococcus aureus is a known complication of liver transplantation (LT). Studies have shown that LT recipients are more predisposed to S. aureus infections than other solid-organ transplant patients; however, these studies have been limited in scope and mostly based out of single centers. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study using 2012–2016 NIS, the largest public inpatient database in the United States. All patients with ICD9-10CM procedural codes for LT were included. The cohort was stratified into two groups depending on whether they had MSSA or MRSA infection. The odds of inpatient mortality in both groups of patients undergoing LT were determined. The inpatient mortality odds were then compared with those of patients undergoing LT without associated S. aureus infection. Other outcomes included inpatient morbidity, resource utilization, hospital length of stay (LOS), and inflation-adjusted total hospital costs and charges. Multivariate regression analyses were used to adjust for demographic variables and Charlson Comorbidity Index. RESULTS: A total of 26,415 patients underwent LT in the study period, of which 180 had MSSA and 160 had MRSA infection reported. The mean age was 51.5 years and 35.6% were female. Patients with MSSA and MRSA displayed significantly higher inpatient mortality rates (11.1% and 9.4%, respectively) compared with non-MSSA/MRSA patients (3.4%) who underwent LT (P < 0.01). After adjusting for confounders, patients with MSSA infection displayed higher mortality odds (aOR: 4.45, P < 0.01), while patients with MRSA infection had non-statistically significant higher inpatient mortality odds (aOR: 3.10, P = 0.12) compared with patients without MSSA/MRSA infection. Both MSSA and MRSA cohorts displayed higher mortality odds if the infection resulted in sepsis (aOR: 9.92 and 5.70, respectively; P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: There is a direct correlation between S. aureus bacteremia and increased mortality rates and incidence of sepsis and shock in LT recipients. Patients with S. aureus bacteremia spent more days in hospital and had higher cost of healthcare. Preventing and aggressively treating S. aureus infections in the immediate post-LT setting is key to reducing mortality, morbidity and resource utilization in patients undergoing LT. [Image: see text] [Image: see text] DISCLOSURES: All authors: No reported disclosures.