Clinical characteristics and outcomes of bacteremia caused by Acinetobacter species other than A. baumannii: comparison with A. baumannii bacteremia.

Previous reports have suggested that bacteremia caused by Acinetobacter species other than A. baumannii is frequently associated with intravascular catheters, and that A. baumannii is less virulent than non-baumannii Acinetobacter. To validate these observations, 28 patients with bacteremia caused by Acinetobacter species other than A. baumannii (cases) were compared with 112 randomly selected patients with A. baumannii bacteremia (controls). Only 1/28 (3.6%) case episodes and 13/112 (11.6%) control episodes of bacteremia were definitely catheter-related (P = 0.301). Even if probable catheter-related episodes were included, the frequency did not differ significantly between cases and controls (46.4% vs 39.3%; P = 0.491). No significant differences between cases and controls were noted in crude mortality (17.9% vs 32.4%; P = 0.131) or bacteremia-related mortality (14.3% vs 12.6%; P = 0.760). In conclusion, we found that the portals of entry and the mortality of bacteremia associated with Acinetobacter species other than A. baumannii and with A. baumannii were similar.