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Risk factors for multidrug-resistant organism infections in neutropenic patients

Risk factors for multidrug-resistant organism infections in neutropenic patients
Photo by Sasun Bughdaryan / Unsplash
Key Takeaway
Recognize that cardiac disease, poor performance status, prolonged neutropenia, and recent broad-spectrum antibiotics are associated with MDRO infection risk.

This observational cohort study at Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital included 391 neutropenic patients with compromised immunity between January 2023 and December 2024. The analysis identified risk factors for multidrug-resistant organism infections and developed a predictive nomogram. The cohort was split into a training set of 206 patients and a validation set of 185 patients.

Multidrug-resistant organism infections occurred in 14.1% of patients (14.1% of 391 patients). These infections were associated with longer hospital stays, higher healthcare costs, and increased mortality. Independent risk factors for MDRO infection included comorbid cardiac disease (OR = 13.500, 95% CI 2.484–73.384, P=0.003), an ECOG score of 2 or higher (OR = 3.210, 95% CI 1.114–9.255, P=0.031), neutropenia duration of 7 days or longer (OR = 4.028, 95% CI 1.399–11.600, P=0.010), and broad-spectrum antibiotic use within the prior 3 months (OR = 13.053, 95% CI 2.419–70.441, P=0.003).

The nomogram showed good discriminative ability, with an AUC of 0.874 in the training cohort and 0.764 in the validation cohort. Safety and tolerability data were not reported. The follow-up duration was not reported.

Key limitations include the observational design, which is subject to bias and confounding, and the single-center setting, which limits generalizability. The findings indicate an association only, not causation. The study provides a practical predictive tool for early identification of high-risk patients, enabling targeted interventions to reduce MDRO infections.

Study Details

Study typeCohort
EvidenceLevel 3
PublishedApr 2026
View Original Abstract ↓
ObjectiveMultidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs) pose a severe threat to neutropenic patients with compromised immunity, leading to poor outcomes and increased healthcare burdens. This study aimed to develop and validate a prediction model for MDRO infections in this population.MethodsA total of 391 neutropenic patients (206 in training cohort, 185 in validation cohort) admitted to Ningbo Medical Center Lihuili Hospital, from January 2023 to December 2024 were enrolled. Demographic, clinical, and outcome data were collected. The least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression and multivariate logistic regression analyses were used to identify independent risk factors, and a nomogram was constructed for prediction. Model performance was evaluated via receiver operating characteristic (ROC),calibration curves and decision curve analysis (DCA).ResultsMDRO infection occurred in 14.1% of patients, associated with longer hospital stays, higher costs, and increased mortality. Independent risk factors included comorbid cardiac disease (OR = 13.500, 95%CI: 2.484-73.384, P = 0.003), ECOG score≥2 (OR = 3.210, 95%CI: 1.114-9.255, P = 0.031), neutropenia duration≥7 days (OR = 4.028, 95%CI: 1.399-11.600, P = 0.010), and broad-spectrum antibiotic use in 3 months prior (OR = 13.053, 95%CI: 2.419-70.441, P = 0.003). The nomogram demonstrated good discriminative ability, with an area under the ROC curve of 0.874 in the training cohort and 0.764 in the validation cohort. Calibration curves confirmed favorable prediction accuracy and the DCA showed good clinical applicability.ConclusionsThis study identifies key risk factors and provides a practical predictive tool for early identification of high-risk patients, enabling targeted interventions to reduce MDRO infections, improve patient outcomes, and alleviate healthcare burdens.
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