Vancomycin-resistant enterococcus in pediatric oncology patients: An analysis of potential consequences of colonization and infection.

A retrospective analysis of 57 pediatric oncology patients with a baseline positive vancomycin-resistant enterococcus (VRE) culture who subsequently received chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy was performed. The incidence of subsequent VRE infection was calculated using a competing risk analysis accounting for death from non-VRE causes as a competing risk. Ten patients had subsequent VRE infection. The cumulative incidence of subsequent infection was 14% (7-27%, 95% confidence interval) at 1 year and 16% (9-29%, 95% confidence interval) at 2 years. None of the hypothesized risk factors appeared to differ between patients who developed a subsequent infection and those who did not. (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.