Clinical characteristics and outcomes of pneumococcal bacteremia in adult patients with liver cirrhosis

Few studies have assessed the clinical characteristics and outcomes of invasive pneumococcal diseases in cirrhotic patients. We reviewed the medical records of adult cirrhotic patients with pneumococcal bacteremia from January 1997 to April 2006. During this time, 62 episodes of pneumococcal bacteremia occurred in 59 patients with liver cirrhosis, 45 (76.3%) of whom were classified as Child–Pugh grade C. The most common source of infection was spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) (45.8%), followed by primary bacteremia (40.7%) and pneumonia (10.1%). The 30-day mortality rate was 16.9%, with all fatalities in patients classified as Child–Pugh grade C. The median model for end-stage liver disease score of patients who died was significantly higher than that of survivors (26.5 versus 17.0, P = 0.001). Pneumococcal bacteremia in adult cirrhotic patients was more commonly associated with SBP than with pneumonia. Most cases of bacteremia and fatal outcomes occurred in patients with advanced cirrhosis.