Demographic and clinical characteristics of the three groups of immunocompromised patients studied (n = 127)
| Variable | HSCT(n = 40) | HM(n = 53) | SOT(n = 34) | p value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HSCT, haematopoietic stem cell transplantation; HM, haematological malignancies; SOT, solid organ transplantation; GVHD, graft versus host disease. | ||||
| *Data are presented as n (%) unless otherwise indicated. | ||||
| †Values are expressed as mean (SD). | ||||
| ‡Median value (50th percentile) for the whole population. | ||||
| Neutropenia was defined as a granulocyte count of <1000 cells/μl. | ||||
| Categorical* | ||||
| Sex (M/F) | 27/13 | 32/21 | 26/8 | 0.3 |
| Neutropenia | 18 (47) | 23 (45) | – | 0.001 |
| Bilateral infiltrates on chest radiograph | 24 (60) | 27 (51) | 18 (53) | 0.6 |
| Infectious aetiology | 20 (65) | 32 (78) | 21 (72) | 0.4 |
| Nosocomial pneumonia | 14 (70) | 18 (56) | 15 (71) | 0.4 |
| Bacteraemia | 4 (10) | 6 (11) | 2 (6) | 0.7 |
| GVHD | 19 (52) | – | 9 (30) | 0.05 |
| Delay in diagnosis⩾7 days‡ | 19 (63) | 13 (36) | 11 (41) | 0.07 |
| Inadequate empirical treatment | 13 (68) | 13 (42) | 8 (40) | 0.1 |
| Mechanical ventilation | 16 (40) | 17 (33) | 18 (52) | 0.1 |
| Undiagnosed | 9 (23) | 12 (23) | 5 (15) | 0.6 |
| Mortality | 16 (40) | 14 (26) | 11 (32) | 0.4 |
| Continuous† | ||||
| Age (years) | 42 (12) | 53 (18) | 50 (14) | 0.005 |
| APACHE II | 16 (6) | 17 (7) | 18 (7) | 0.4 |
| Creatinine (mg/l) | 1.6 (1.5) | 1.1 (0.4) | 3.1 (2.1) | <0.0001 |
| Albumin (g/l) | 30 (5) | 31.7 (5) | 31.8 (6) | 0.6 |
| Pao2/Fio2 (mm Hg) | 287 (106) | 286 (97) | 238 (142) | 0.2 |