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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Cell. Infect. Microbiol.
Sec. Clinical Infectious Diseases
Volume 14 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcimb.2024.1472765
This article is part of the Research Topic Current molecular, immunological, pathological and clinical aspects of pathogenic infections View all articles

Identifying key blood markers for bacteremia in elderly patients: insights into bacterial pathogens

Provisionally accepted
Shi-Yan Zhang Shi-Yan Zhang *Ying Zhuo Ying Zhuo Bu-Ren Li Bu-Ren Li Ying-Ying Jiang Ying-Ying Jiang Jie Zhang Jie Zhang Na Cai Na Cai Lin Yang Lin Yang
  • Department of Clinical Laboratory, Fuding Hospital, Ningde, Fujian Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: This study aimed to assess the distribution of bacteremia pathogens in elderly patients, examine the impact of gender on pathogen distribution, and evaluate the predictive value of routine blood parameters for diagnosing bacteremia. Methods: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 151 elderly patients (≥60 years old) admitted to Fuding Hospital, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine between October 2022 and June 2023. Comprehensive routine blood tests and blood cultures were performed. The diagnostic efficacy of routine blood parameters, including white blood cell (WBC), neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR), and red blood cell distribution width (RDW), was evaluated using receive operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. Patients were categorized into either the culture-positive group (82 cases) or the culture-negative group (69 cases) according to blood culture results. Results: No significant differences in age and gender were found between the culture-positive and culture-negative groups. The primary bacterial pathogens of bacteremia in the elderly were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Streptococcus. Elderly female patients demonstrated a significantly higher culture positivity rate for E. coli compared to their male counterparts (P = 0.021). The areas under the ROC curve (AUC) for the four parameters were as follows: WBC, 0.851 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.790 -0.912); NLR, 0.919 (95% CI 0.875 -0.963); PLR, 0.609 (95% CI 0.518 -0.700); and RDW was 0.626 (95% CI 0.563 -0.717). Conclusions: E. coli was identified as the predominant pathogenic microorganism causing bacteremia in the elderly, with a significantly higher culture positivity rate among female patients. Routine blood parameters (WBC, NLR, PLR, and RDW) demonstrated a predictive potential for diagnosing bacteremia in elderly patients.

    Keywords: Elderly, Blood culture, Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, ROC analysis, Escherichia coli, Bacteremia

    Received: 06 Aug 2024; Accepted: 26 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Zhuo, Li, Jiang, Zhang, Cai and Yang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Shi-Yan Zhang, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Fuding Hospital, Ningde, 355218, Fujian Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.