 |
| Case reports |
| Vancomycin-resistant enterococcal infections in bone marrow transplant recipients |
|
| Y Koc1, D R Snydman2, D S Schenkein1 and K B Miller1,a |
|
1Bone Marrow Transplant Unit and the Division of Infectious Diseases, New England Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
2Department of Medicine and Department of Microbiology, Department of Pathology, New England Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
|
|
aCorrespondence: Dr KB Miller, New England Medical Center, 750 Washington Street, Box No. 245, Boston, MA 02111, USA |
|
| Abstract |
| Vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infections have been increasingly reported in immunosuppressed individuals over the past decade. Emergence of this pathogen in the bone marrow transplantation (BMT) setting, in the form of bacteremia or positive stool cultures, is of concern because of lack of effective antimicrobial therapy. We report episodes of vancomycin-resistant E. faecium bacteremia in two patients undergoing BMT including the first case of VRE meningitis observed in this setting. Since the outcome in these patients undergoing matched unrelated donor BMT was fatal, we believe that routine screening for VRE in high risk patients should be considered. Management of VRE carrier state in BMT candidates is unclear at present. |
|
| Keywords |
| VRE; bone marrow transplantation; meningitis |
|
|
|
|
| Received 19 August 1997; accepted 9 March 1998 |
|
| July 1998, Volume 22, Number 2, Pages 207-209 |
| Table of contents Previous Abstract Next Article PDF |
|
