Bloodstream infections in acute myeloid leukemia patients treated according to the Finnish Leukemia Group AML-2003 protocol – a prospective nationwide study

AbstractBackground: Infections greatly influence the outcome of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients receiving intensive treatment. The aim of this study was to establish the incidence, microbial etiology, risk factors and prognosis of bloodstream infections (BSIs) in patients with AML and compare the results with the previous treatment protocol (AML-92).Methods: Registery data were gathered prospectively from 357 patients aged 16–65 years recruited on the AML-2003 treatment protocol between November 2003 and November 2011 during different treatment cycles.Results: Blood culture data were available on 977 treatment episodes, in which there were 503 BSIs (51%). The overall incidence rate (IR) for BSIs (per 1000 hospital days) was 16.7. Twenty patients (5.6%) died due to an infection and 16 of them (80%) had a BSI. The most commonly detected microbes (polymicrobial episodes included) in blood cultures were coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS, 24.7%), viridans group streptococci (VGS, 19.1%), enterococci...