Abstract
The case history of 88 patients with blood cultures positive forEscherichia coli and evidence of systemic disease was reviewed, and theEscherichia coli blood isolates tested for P-fimbriation. Fifty-five strains (63 %) were P-fimbriated. Patients with a positive urine culture had a higher incidence of P-fimbriatedEscherichia coli strains (53/75, 71 %) than patients with a negative urine culture (2/13, 15%). Patients with no predisposing factors, such as instrumentation of the urinary tract or a chronic disease, had a significantly higher frequency of P-fimbriated strains (31/36, 86%) compared to patients without such underlying factors (p < 0.01). There was no significant difference in clinical parameters or in frequency of P-fimbriated strains between patients with one positive blood culture and those with two or more positive cultures. The high incidence of P-fimbriatedEscherichia coli strains in these patients is thought to depend on the ability of such bacteria to cause acute pyelonephritis, which in many cases precedesEscherichia coli bacteremia.
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Brauner, A., Leissner, M., Wretlind, B. et al. Occurrence of P-fimbriatedEscherichia coli in patients with bacteremia. Eur. J, Clin. Microbiol. 4, 566–569 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02013396
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02013396