Bloodstream infections caused by Streptococcus anginosus group bacteria: A retrospective analysis of 78 cases at a Japanese tertiary hospital.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the characteristics of Streptococcus anginosus group (SAG) bacteremia in recent years, we conducted a retrospective cohort study and compared its findings with the data from previous studies.

METHODS: All patients with positive blood cultures from May 2005 to September 2014 in a tertiary care center with 925 beds were included.

RESULTS: There were 78 cases of SAG bacteremia (51 cases men; median age, 68 years) during the study period. The most common comorbidities were solid tumors in 32.1% of the patients. The most common infection source was hepatobiliary in one-third of all cases. Other infection sites included the following: intra-abdominal (12.8%), thoracic (10.3%), musculoskeletal (9%), urinary tract (7.7%), soft tissues (7.7%), and cervicofacial (6.4%). Susceptibility to penicillin, clindamycin and erythromycin were 100% (78/78), 95% (70/74) and 85% (39/46), respectively. Surgery along with systemic antibiotic treatment was administered in 53% of the cases. In-hospital mortality was 14.1%.

CONCLUSION: The clinical sources of the SAG bacteria were diverse, and hepatobiliary infection was the most common source of infection. In more than half of the patients, surgical treatment was performed. Susceptibility to penicillin was 100%, but susceptibility to erythromycin was lower than that reported in previous studies.